graverobbing

Tiso was following Y/N around like usual. He had lost track of time at this point. How long would he be the shadow chasing Y/N’s footsteps? How long would he be the shade of a fallen and scorned warrior? Was he stuck here forever? He had grown desensitized to the way Y/N hacked corpses to bits, to the way it stuck its hand under its mask to lick blood off its claws, to the sound of the cleaver and the severed limbs shoved into the basket. The smell of carnage was still every bit as invigorating as it had been while he was alive, though. He was itching for a fight. He could throw rocks with quite a bit of force. He dented a wall the other day with one. He wanted to prove his strength even in death. Instead he was stuck flicking pebbles at Y/N, which Y/N batted aside like toys. It ruined the fun, so he spent his time flicking pebbles at the large booflies drifting around instead. They didn't seem to care either, but at least the pebble made a sound as it hit their chitin.

“Why are you doing that? They haven't hurt you.” Tiso turned his attention to Y/N.

True, but you don't know that. Besides, it's not like they care.

He flicked another pebble at the boofly he had been harassing for the past few minutes. Once again, no response from it. If he were still in his body, he would cut it down with his shield for fun. Larger opponents were always fun to…

A shadow…

Tiso pulled angrily on his spectral hood. Now was not the time to relive his death for the upteenth time. Y/N was leaving, and he wasn't about to be left behind just because he was too busy daydreaming. He drifted after it. When Tiso went through this area, he had encountered tiny hopping bugs and large aspids that launched three acid balls instead of one. Y/N, on the other hand, didn't encounter any of that. Its biggest concern was the acid in the lake below, but its ability to cling to surfaces made it a trivial hazard. Some bugs could do that, too. Tiso couldn't. It wasn't a matter of lacking the ability to cling, his armor was just too heavy for it. If he was falling, he wouldn't be able to catch himself on the wall. He’d slide just as fast as he fell through the air. He made it a point to avoid paths that required a lot of jumping.

“Bugs as hefty as us just have to go around, huh Tiso?” Tiso could see his friend’s smile in his memory, glistening as the sun reflected off his steel shell. There was a large ravine, and the bridge had collapsed. Any other bug could possibly double hop across if they had wings, or maybe climb up the opposite wall if the water far below wasn't too deep, but Tiso and his friend had too much weight to climb efficiently. If Tiso were desperate he could ditch his armor and nail and be fine, but his dear friend didn't have such a luxury.

“I don't see the ends. It could take forever to find a way around it.” Tiso harrumphed. “Are you sure this is the only path? What's the big deal with this place we’re going to anyway? What's it called again? Hollow Nest?”

“Hallownest, Tiso, Hallownest.” His friend looked back across the ravine. “If you make it to Hallownest, your dearest wish comes true…”

“Tsk. That sounds like bogus.” A part of him wanted to believe it, though. He was desperate to fulfill his dream of having his name burned into history so nobody could deny it, his dream of proving that he was just as strong as his sisters in spite of the path he had chosen, no, because of the path he had chosen. If he could do that…

“Tiso?” Tiso snapped back to attention when Y/N called his name. “You’ve been quiet. Are you okay? Are you still here?” Tiso rolled his eyes before tapping on Y/N’s mask once. “What’s wrong?”

Let’s see. I’m dead. My only friend’s dead. I’m stuck with you because you stole my corpse AND my friend's corpse. Everyone laughed at me when I died. I came all the way to Hallownest for nothing. My friend didn't even make it here even though he was the one that wanted to see it. I have to relive every regret in my life twenty times a day. I can’t affect the world around me in any meaningful way. And, worst of all, you can't even hear me despite expressing concern for me in the first place.

Y/N remained silent. It was waiting for an answer, but Tiso didn't know how to provide one. He picked up a pebble. He looked up at the ceiling of the cavern, which was too high up to see. Corpses were falling from there even now. He threw the pebble full force at the ceiling. It went up, then came back down at Y/N’s feet.

“Up there? Alright. I’ve never been up there before, actually…” Y/N hopped across a few ledges and began the ascent. Tiso was surprised at how easy it was to get Y/N to go where he wanted. It crawled up the wall of the ravine, unbothered by the slick, irregular surface. It eventually crawled into a cavern. After following the path for a bit, they encountered the corpse of a massive crustacean. “Oh!!! What’s this?” Tiso picked up a pebble and threw it into the mouth of the beast. Y/N dutifully followed Tiso’s command. The inside of the beast’s mouth was spacious. Bugs were suspended from the ceiling in chains, and three boards covered in small weapons and pins were standing guard in front of a barred doorway. Beyond the bars was the sound of bugs laughing and chattering away. A trap door was open, which light poured out of but no sound.

“Hello!” Y/N jumped with a squeak when the Little Fool addressed it. “Jumpy, are we?” The bug squirmed a bit to face the spider. “Welcome to the Colosseum! The final destination for all seeking trials of deadly combat!”

“Combat…?”

“Yes! Just pay the entry fee and place your mark on the board to participate! Oh, but do remember to stop by the warrior’s pit down below first!” Y/N approached the first of the boards. It scanned the marks placed on it. Eventually it found Tiso’s mark: a bolt from his dear dead friend’s crossbow. Y/N delicately placed its claw against it, looking over at the other two signs. Tiso’s mark was on all of them.

“Is this how you died…?”

“Pardon?”

Tiso tapped three times on Y/N’s mask. The Little Fool suspended from the ceiling stared at Y/N in confusion. Y/N turned to the Fool.

“These fights are to the death?”

“Yes, of course! There would be no glory in it, otherwise.”

“And you can do any of these?”

“Not necessarily.” The Fool shifted and swayed. “You have to do them in order. You have to prove that you’re worthy of the greater trials.”

“I see…”

“You know, I think I recognize that shield on your back. Quite distinctive. Did you scavenge that off of one of our fallen warriors?”

“Oh… well, he wasn't using it anymore, and it looked useful.” Tiso threw a rock at Y/N, which it caught out of the air. The Little Fool whipped his head towards where Tiso had thrown it from, which sent him swinging and spinning in his chains.

“What was that!?”

“What was what?” Y/N’s tone was innocently oblivious.

“A rock came flying at you out of nowhere! And you caught it?” Y/N slipped the pebble into its basket.

“What are you talking about? What rock?”

“It’s in your–! What!? Where’d it go!?” Y/N turned to the board.

“So what is the entry fee for these trials?”

“One hundred Geo.” The Fool’s wild spinning had slowed down to a gentle sway.

“Geo? What’s that?”

“Are you yanking my chain right now!? Geo! Money! Cashola! What else would the fee be!?” The Fool was clearly getting agitated by Y/N’s antics.

“What does it look like?”

“Bah!!” The Little Fool started grumbling in annoyance. “Little fossils. The husks drop tons of them. Having enough geo to pay the fee proves that you’re capable of fighting.”

“I see… and I only need a hundred?”

“Yes.” Y/N looked at the board again.

“Okay.” Y/N left the Colosseum. Tiso followed.

Are you seriously thinking of entering? You couldn't fight a wet blanket.

“What do you think, Tiso? Should we try?”

We!? I can barely throw pebbles!

Despite his unheard skepticism, a part of Tiso wanted to say yes. He never finished proving himself. He had failed. He wanted a second chance more than anything in the world. If he fought with Y/N and won, could he finally shake the nightmares he was caught in…?

Tap tap tap.

“Okay!” Y/N sounded a bit excited. “I’ll have to actually fight those husks… I usually avoid it. After all, what if someone eventually came up with a cure for what’s wrong with them…?”

A cure? Who cares? They want you dead, Y/N.

Tiso paused. Saying Y/N’s name aloud triggered something. A little bit of warmth. A little bit of pain. A little bit of what being alive felt like. Why? It wasn't a name that held any particular meaning for him. Y/N… Y/N… He murmured it a few more times to himself, each utterance imparting more feeling than the last. More warmth. More pain. He could even feel his tongue against his upper palate. His reverie was interrupted by the sound of a bug’s noisy death rattle. Tiso snapped to attention just in time to watch Y/N delicately wipe orange pus off Tiso's shield with a small blood-covered cloth. A small hopper was crushed against the ground. Y/N delicately gathered up a few of the rocks that had previously been in its gullet.

“Tiso, is this Geo?”

Tap tap tap.

Y/N slipped the tiny pebbles into its basket. “Just need eighty four more little rocks. That shouldn't be too hard. I think I can get by killing the small feral insects and not hurt any of the… what do you call them? Civilized?”

Tap. Underneath their refined exterior, they are mere beasts like the rest. Civilized my ass.

“Oh… well I don't know, then. But you know what I mean, right?”

Tap tap tap.

“Yes… I want to believe they can get better. Don’t you?”

Tap.

“Oh. I guess that's fair. They killed you. They try to kill me, too. I’ve read a lot of journals. Bugs are scared of spiders and want to kill them. That's why we have to make webs…” Y/N sighed. “But I understand why they're scared. We eat them. I tried to eat you, too. I try to only eat bugs that are already dead. I don't want to hurt anyone…”

And yet you want to fight in the Colosseum? You’re too soft.

That said, he watched Y/N murder a few more wild bugs and it was brutal. It threw the shield well, which was a technique he didn't expect it to pick up so quickly. This usually sliced its victims in half, but for the ones that got pinned to the wall and still struggled to live Y/N ripped them in half itself with its claws. For the larger Booflies that wouldn't get pinned to the wall, Y/N threw its cleaver to get the thing’s attention and then either shot at it with the shield’s crossbow or leapt up to it to retrieve the cleaver and attack with the shield at the same time. Y/N cleaned everything vigorously, cautious about contamination. That sunset orange pus was splattered everywhere. It was like someone had cracked a large egg, scrambled it, and then dropped the bowl. It was… kind of hot. Tiso hated to admit it to himself, but he held nothing but admiration for Y/N’s fighting technique. If it was so capable, why did it freeze up when faced with the Stalking Devout? Why did it whimper and writhe like a larva in the face of danger? Why did it bend a knee so readily to others?

Spiders are efficient killers. You must always be on your guard.

Tiso shook the voice out of his head. That voice was right, but it was not one Tiso obeyed anymore. It was a voice that didn't even know his name.

They are clever, too. They lay traps. They trick you into believing they are your friends. They lure you in, only to snare you in their web. They will drink you dry and laugh about it. Never trust a spider.

It didn't matter. Tiso was dead. Besides, Y/N said itself that it didn't want to hurt anyone.

Never. Trust. A spider.

“Tiso?” Tiso jumped. Y/N held up its basket, looking around. “I got a hundred! Should we go back to the Colosseum?” Tiso hesitated to answer. “...Are you there?”

Tap.

“Oh! Yes, I guess it would be a good idea to take a break. I think I should train a bit more too. I make a big mess.”

Your technique is beautiful.

He had no way to express this sentiment, and Y/N had already started off back to their shared den. Tiso followed closely behind, focused on tuning out the unpleasant memories. His fingertips brushed Y/N’s elbow, causing it to stop. He stopped as well. Y/N was looking in his general direction, he could tell even though its body didn’t face him and its mask was blank. They stood in silence, staring at each other. Tiso reached out and touched its elbow again. It turned its gaze to where his fingers lightly rested.

“You’re still warm…” Tiso withdrew quickly, almost like a flinch. Y/N giggled a little at that before continuing on. Tiso had no choice but to follow.