Richard Adams

I followed after Mimi as she quietly walked back the way she came. I could see the trail in the ground from where her beetles marched, and how she dragged the corpse. I thought she didn't want to show any kind of attention towards me specifically since the lizardmen were there watching. Though as we kept walking, it became more clear that wasn't the case. I rubbed the back of my head, waiting for her to say something, but she didn't. Not after fifteen straight minutes of walking. I watched her, but she kept a passive face, and just focused on the path ahead of us.

Finally, I just let out a long sigh. This made her stop walking for a moment to look at me. She tilted her head, as I turned towards her with a smile. "You know Mimi, if you're sad you can just tell me."

Mimi blinked, but shook her head slowly. "I'm not sad, why would you think that?"

I snapped my fingers, "You are, you've been alone out here for two days. You aren't even trying to talk to me."

She looked at me for a second, before continuing to walk the path ahead of us. I had to run to catch up as she took longer strides. "My life doesn't revolve around you Richard. Why do I need to try talking to you? What makes it an issue when I don't?"

I jogged beside her, "You're right, it doesn't. It shouldn't ever revolve around me, or anyone else. It's your life Mimi, so why aren't you happy?"

She slowed down a little, letting me walk to keep up with her. "What makes you think that I'm not happy? I do not understand."

She wasn't looking at me, as we continued walking. I reached for her hand, but she pulled away. "Well that for one. Are you mad at me for something?"

She looked at my hand, before taking it gently. I saw that her chitin had changed, despite being hidden under the gore. "I thought you wouldn't want to touch me, since I'm filthy right now."

I rubbed the back of my head, "I'm used to it, Oswald had me dissect a bloated corpse one time. He was trying to get rid of me back then, and the thing exploded, caking me in all kinds of nasty stuff. It really doesn't bother me Mimi."

She gently squeezed my hand, smiling a little. "It doesn't hurt you as much to talk about him anymore."

"Yeah, but it still hurts. I spent all my time just focusing on getting stronger, and losing myself to the fog. I... it stings since it almost feels like it happened just a week ago, maybe two. Though I know he wouldn't want me to wallow in self pity. You also need me to help you."

She tilted her head at this, while leading us as we continued to walk together, "I need your help? I just said my life doesn't revolve around you."

I grinned at her, "I know, and it shouldn't. It never should, because that leads to obsession, and I've seen some people like that. I saw what happens after down here too. While you were gone, I talked to Robert about you, and he told me a lot of things."

"Such as?" She looked ahead, and I realized she wasn't even surprised.

Come to think of it, her bugs were always there watching us when we talked. "Oh, you probably know. Just about how strong you are, and why you were out here trying to kill things. Mimi did you know Oswald taught me that everyone lies?" I felt nervous for suggesting this, but I needed to know if she was watching us through her bugs.

Mimi pursed her lips a little, before slowly nodding. "What are you suggesting?"

"Well one of the best ways to eavesdrop is to read the lips of people, even if you don't understand. You openly admitted to being able to enter your Hive with that stinger incident the other day." I rubbed the top of her hand with my thumb, feeling my glove catch on it. It was rougher than it should be. "I also know you wouldn't just sit around if you could help it. Mimi, do you know what we said?" I stopped walking to look up at her.

She stopped mid stride, before looking down. I wasn't sure how to feel about this, and I could see her briefly consider what to do next. For the first time, I saw the briefest hints of hesitation from her. She opened her mouth, but I already knew the truth. She could feel it from me. "Is there a way for me to convince you otherwise?"

I let out a soft sigh, then laughed because it shouldn't really matter if she was watching us or not. Mimi was staring at me, looking a little confused. "Sorry, sorry." I got the last bit of giggles out of my system. "You really are amazing Mimi, but you shouldn't keep secrets from family."

She blinked, "I thought you were going to tell me not to do such a thing." She was focusing on me, trying to read me through the ring. I let her, since pulling away might hurt her.

I slowly shook my head, "I wouldn't tell you not to, we're in the Underground, a place where people can bury a knife in your back just for a loaf of bread. I went drinking with Oswald to become his brother before you came back. It sucks, because he used that as an excuse to get me drunk so I wouldn't remember what he told me. Even after I told him everything." I held a hand over my heart, because the pain of his death was still there. "So please, if I really am your family. If you can accept me, tell me everything. I will tell you anything you ask of me, truthfully and with complete honesty."

Mimi marched her wings once, before kneeling down to grab each of my limbs with her four arms. I didn't struggle, but I was a little afraid. Her face was a dull red, from the dried blood, but at least her lips were clean. "Richard... I am considering the merits of eating you right now."

I pulled my emotions from her, which shocked her a little. She started to move a stinger towards my neck, as I let those emotions back to her. I watched her as best I could, she was unsure what to do. She didn't know how to go about this, and I steadied myself. She could feel my fear. She could feel how nervous I was, but she was afraid of me right now. I didn't understand why she kept me around, or even why she put up with me those two months while I grieved. I doubted it was because I was familiar to her, or she didn't like change. By the hells, she changed whenever she ate something strong. There had to be a reason.

Then I saw the quick bug flying from Mimi's shoulder. It was coming at me, its stinger out. I closed my eyes, accepting that I was going to probably die from it. I smiled, because I was going to see Oswald soon enough. Then the unthinkable happened. Mimi let go of my arm. I opened my eyes, still expecting a sting, but I saw the little guy accidentally crushed when Mimi grabbed him. Her arms were trembling, as she quickly ate him. I blinked, before swallowing hard, "Are you okay?"

She was silent for a couple seconds, staring into my eyes, but clearly focused on something else. Finally she relaxed, grabbing my arm again as she composed herself. "Scix is confused as to why I did that, and I am explaining that he shouldn't attack those within the Hive. He is reasoning that you are a threat, and could destroy the gang by telling the others I am watching. Promise you won't tell anyone, and I will let you go."

I let out a small sigh, before staring right back at her. "I won't tell them because you asked me not to. We're family Mimi, and that doesn't mean your gang is family." I knew she felt my resolve, which seemed to shake her to her very core. She pulled her hands away, covering the bottom two in her wings, while the upper two just hung there limply.

She was looking down, completely lost. "I do not understand, I just threatened to eat you. You almost died, and I offered you a chance to run away. Yet, you are still here before me. You are not lying, but you are still scared. You feel nervous, but you ignore it because of you resolve. How does this make any sense to you? Why is your fear growing as I say these words, but you are building up courage to do something. You know you cannot harm me."

It hurt that she thought I was going to try and lash out at her, that she didn't understand. She could feel my emotions, but she could only guess at the reasoning behind them. She was so smart, far too smart really. It was why an idiot like me could confuse her so much. I stepped closer, as she snapped her attention back to me. She hissed out surprise, her stingers raised to sting me. I stopped, as she let them fall down. "What are you going to do?" She asked me, wanting an answer.

I wrapped my arms around her head, hugging her to my chest. "Oswald pulled this same shit at the start Mimi. He tried to run me off for months, before finally letting me in." She didn't know what to do, as her stingers fell down behind her. I stroked them gently as she moved her antenna away from me.

"It hurts if you touch them, it's why I want horns." She rested them on my shoulders while I nodded, still stroking the back of her head like mother Oak did when I had terrible days.

"See? We've been together for a while now and we almost know nothing about each other. Sure, when we first met I talked a lot about the city and everything inside it. To try and help you prepare for it, but I didn't talk about myself." Mimi closed her eyes, placing trust in me.

"I hardly recall that time, it felt so long ago and when I was severed from the majority of my Hive, I was struggling. You know I could kill you so many different ways right now. Why did you chose to do this? Help me understand."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I let out a small laugh, "I'm doing this because we're family, and you're hurting Mimi. I'm hurting still, but I can manage it. I used to think that my talent let me see anyone that was in pain. I didn't understand how I picked up on these things, but that fortune teller said I didn't have a talent. Which means I might just be a little crazy."

"A little?" She smiled a bit, as if it were a joke.

I smiled back, "Okay, okay. You can call me crazy, but it hasn't been wrong. When I first met Oswald, I was trying to steal from him. He was living alone, and the place had a layer of dust on the bottom floor like you wouldn't believe. It wasn't filthy, but he never came down back then. I could see a trail from where he would walk out of the room, or even prints from where other people touched his stuff. You know, he caught me not because I actually had stolen goods in my hands, but because I spent the time to dust off a couple tables."

"Really? You dusted off things in his estate before even trying to steal from him?"

"Yeah, really. You can tell when I am lying, see how fondly I remember it? He yelled at me for that, more angry at the fact that I dusted off his tables, than actually stealing anything. He was still yelling even when the guards showed up. Frothing at the mouth, and deciding on the spot that if I wanted to clean so much, I'd do it for free for a month."

"That's how you got inside his home?"

"Yeah, at first I thought it worked out great since it gave me a reason to be there, and I could just steal everything I found. I realized pretty quickly that Oswald didn't care about the coin though. Anything worth something was kept on the lower floors. The trophies he had on the walls were bolted down and even had runes on them. Silver utensils, fancy glass mirrors, and even paintings were all on the second floor just waiting for anyone to take them. I asked him one day, why the trophies were bolted down, while it was so easy for the paintings and expensive stuff to be taken. Do you know what he said?"

Mimi shook her head, "How would you expect me to know that exactly Richard? Why bother asking?"

I smiled, "Because when you talk about someone, you need to keep the other person engaged in the conversation Mimi. Especially when they were someone you loved. Lying isn't so different from telling stories, but you probably want to know what he said to me when I asked. This was a few months after I worked there." I teared up a little, "He was starting to open up, when I asked. He told me they were his friends." It still hurt to talk about him, to finally understand why he broke down in tears that day.

"Why are you telling me this Richard? This is hurting you, you promised not to go back into despair." She grabbed me, to keep me standing up.

I shook my head, a few tears rolling down my cheeks, "I'm getting there. Anyway, I thought he was joking. I didn't laugh, because it wasn't funny Mimi. I just nodded, waiting for him to laugh as well, but he didn't. I really didn't understand back then. Then it happened, Oswald sent me home for the day. I asked why, and he said he was going to be busy. I packed up my stuff and left, not even bothering to ask why. I left something behind, and went back an hour later to get it."

I leaned forward, against her for support. The more I read the book, the more I understood, and the more it all hurt. Everything came together, just how broken my brother had been. "I entered through the window, so he wouldn't hear me knocking. Then I heard it, he was sobbing. I moved quietly, to find him sobbing over a trophy that had just came in. He was babbling about how this Werewolf had always wanted to stop everyone from feeling hungry. Do you understand Mimi?"

"No, I don't. Where are you taking this Richard?"

I swallowed hard, shaking my head. "To Oswald, that monster was a person. All those trophies he had mounted on the walls, they were his friends. They were people he cared for, not monsters. He wrote in his journal about them, back when they were much less viscous. Oswald saw them as monsters at first, then he couldn't tell them apart from people. What I'm trying to say is that no matter what, you are a person Mimi."

She perked her antenna for a second, before letting them droop back onto my shoulders. "You are saying you see me as a person, even though you will admit to me being a monster behind my back?"

I nodded, "Yes! You're just a person with black blood, that can do amazing things. Sure your blood is poison, and you think different, but that's why we need to understand each other. That's why we can't keep secrets from each other. You told me you were afraid of being alone, and that's why it scares me when I think of you out here by yourself. You and your Hive are connected, and one. Though you tell them what to do, they can't go against you. I understand it now, you don't need me or the gang to survive. You don't want to be alone, so you keep us around."

"Richard... that's not..." She tried to pull back to look at me, but I hugged her tightly so all she did was lift me up a little before letting out a sigh.

"You don't have to be alone Mimi, please tell me what you are planning on doing, please let me come with you." I blinked away the tears that fell on her head, as she let me just hold her.

"If you die, I will eat you." Her voice was low, to tell me there was no compromising.

"Joke's on you, I'm into that shit." I laughed a little, trying to steady myself. I couldn't let myself fall back into despair, not after I promised her. I can't make her take care of me like that again, not when I knew she needed help.

"Very funny, I expect us to try for offspring when Spring finally comes and it warms up." She folded her hands in her lap.

I smiled a little, "Ha! Thanks for the joke Mimi, but you shouldn't tease me like that."

"Richard, I'm not joking. Between you and one other individual, where said individual is too young to court right now. I want to try making children." Her voice was neutral, as if she was only idly curious as to what might happen.

I blinked, "Woah, woah, what do you mean? There's someone else, and why me? I mean, what about the other people? I'm sure there are others that really want to do that kind of stuff with you Mimi. Why are you picking me over them? I mean, I don't mind or anything, but what if they come out as something that hurts you?"

Mimi looked down a little, causing my knees to buckle since she was just too strong. "If that happens, I shall kill them myself. I am curious as to what happens if we attempt breeding. I want to have a princess, that can continue my race and protect our Hive. You are at the top of the list, because you smell wonderful to me."

"Wait, you weren't joking about me smelling nice when you were drunk on coffee?" I looked down at her, as she looked back up to me.

"I wasn't joking, I lost control over myself and was tempted to take you back then more than likely. My reason probably won out, given that I didn't take you. I want to give you the freedom to decide if we do, but if you choose to go hunting with me, even after I told you to train properly with the lizardmen. Then you will give me children come Spring." She was completely serious.

My jaw dropped, then I closed it with a smile. "Alright, that's fine. Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?"

Mimi glared at me a little, "You do not have to force yourself if you do not find me attractive as a mate. I understand how intimidating I can be." I stopped her from talking by gently grabbing under her chin.

I leaned in and kissed her on the lips, which surprised her. I pulled away, not wanting to taste bug guts. "If I can kiss you when you're covered in gore, and after watching you eat a bug. Then I can promise you that I'll get it up when we're both in the mood. Anything else we need to talk about? No more secrets Mimi, not if we're going to get that close."

I saw Mimi blush for the first time. She let her antenna fall back with her stingers, as she licked her lips. "Very well, I shall tell you everything I feel you need to know, or might want to know. I am placing this trust in you, because you are determined to make this work. I need to ask, if Oswald was alive, what would you do?"

I laughed, shaking my head. "Then he probably got revived by the king or something. Even if he wasn't, I'd be happy that he was alive. You and him are the only family I have, Mimi."

"What if he used you Richard?" She seemed a little concerned about this.

"So what? Have you seen his family? It took a long time before he started opening up to me. He needed help, just like you need help now. I thought you had everything together when we first met, then that whole thing at the orphanage. Your personality changed and everything." I wiped my face.

Mimi just stared at me, "You're changing the subject. Please, tell me what you'd do if Oswald was alive right now. I can feel you're upset, that I am hurting you by saying this."

I swallowed hard, scratching my chin, "Of course I'm upset. You're here saying he's alive, after I held him in my arms while he died. I'm not some saint that can just say, oh great he's alive! It fucking hurts to think he left without saying a word to me, that he used me. If he is alive, and he used me, I know I'll need time to calm down. I will not want to see him for a while until it doesn't hurt thinking about him. Wouldn't you be upset if someone you cared about just died? Then you hear from someone else you trust that he's really alive!? What the fuck Mimi!?" I pulled away from her taking deep breaths.

Mimi looked away herself, before finally standing up. "My apologies Richard. I still choose to trust you however. I plan on having us establish a proper bond in the future. Something more permanent than this fragile ring that connects us. Are you okay with that?"

I let out a small laugh, "Usually it's the guy doing the proposing. I am fine with that, because I know you won't hurt me on purpose. Just like you are telling me these things, I am choosing to trust you Mimi. It works both ways, and it's a fragile thing. Please don't give me a reason to not trust you."

I looked back at her, to watch her nod. "I agree, just as you have decided to protect my Hive. What would you have done if I died back then? After the week I spent with Wyatt?"

I looked at her, "I don't know, I would have been upset honestly. Your hive went different directions that day, but I'd do my best to keep it safe like I promised when we first met. You saved my life, and I owed that to you at least. Now we're here, you pushing me away with lies like, 'okay, I'll eat you when you die,' or 'Oswald's still alive, but you can't chase after him.'" I over-exaggerated on my voice to show I didn't believe she'd actually eat me if I died.

Mimi frowned a bit, "You said no secrets, Richard please understand that I have every intention of eating you, should you die."

I let out a soft sigh, "Fine, say you do. Why exactly would you? Help me understand that."

Mimi blinked, before nodding. "The best way to explain it is that I value you. To me, who has struggled to feed my Hive for so long, it is the greatest insult to say that your flesh is not worth eating. To leave it there so it can rot or be eaten by other creatures. I will eat your body when you die, because I value you. Even if I do not gain any magic from it, or even any kind of growth. I will eat you, because you are important to my Hive, and myself." She placed a hand on her chest, smiling warmly.

I struggled with the idea for a bit, but remembered that elves were known for that custom as well. Yeah, if we were going to make this work we had to tell each other everything. We had to communicate, and work through the friction. She was willing to accept me, and to give this thing a shot. What kind of idiot would I be, if I didn't jump in head first?

We walked and talked, just like the first days on our way to Eclipse. This time actually telling each other everything we could. We talked even while she struggled to drag one of the worms. I did my best to help her with it, but there was only so much I could do compared to her overwhelming strength. She appreciated the effort regardless, just happy for the fact that I made the attempt. To her trying something and failing was better than doing nothing. Something deep down told me everything would work out fine between us, even if we had a long way to go before I was comfortable with doing the ritual to bond with her. We couldn't rush this after all.