V2 Chapter 1 - Siblings
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SISTERS: TWO HALVES OF THE SAME SOUL
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“We've talked about this already. Clearly, the nursery belongs on the fourth floor, away from mother.” My sister's voice cuts through the humid air like a knife, her tone sharp and authoritative. “Move the nursery to the fourth floor!” she commands, and all of the swarm begins a mass migration down. Hivelings and curators alike scurry to and fro, cleaning up Mommy's bedchamber, taking up food and eggs alike, their tiny legs creating a symphony of skittering sounds.
“That’s just stupid!” I retort, my voice rising above the cacophony of the shifting nursery. “The hivelings want to be around Mommy; they should keep her company! Keep the nursery here in Mommy’s bedchamber!” I announce, and the hundreds of children turn around, their movement like a synchronized wave.
“Maybe because they’re loud!? You know, like very loud!? Mother needs peace and quiet! To the fourth floor!” My sister's frustration is palpable, and the children do yet another 180, their obedience almost involuntary.
“You don’t think I know that? I’m with her every day!” I snap back, feeling the heat of anger in my antennae. “But I’m sure she also gets lonely. Don’t you think their presence could help her feel more at ease?” I say, my voice softening. This time, I don’t even have to give the command for our younger siblings to turn around; they sense the emotional shift and react instinctively.
My sister glares at me, her patience thinning. This isn’t the first disagreement we’ve had, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. “They’re not just loud; they’re a distraction. If you want to help, you need to think practically, not emotionally. We can’t risk compromising her metamorphosis.” Her words are biting, and the children turn around again, their tiny bodies looking almost tired from the constant back-and-forth.
“But separating them any more feels so wrong,” I argue, my voice trembling slightly as I look at the tiny hivelings crawling around. “They’re family. They deserve to be close to her. Close to each other. We've already separated the bulk of Strikers and Defenders from their siblings. Any more is overkill.” My eyes meet the wide, curious eyes of the hivelings, and this time they stop, staring up at us both, caught in the crossfire of our argument.
“I know I gave you permission to name them….but Strikers and Defenders? Those are so bad and basic! Wasn’t there anything better that you could’ve thought up!?” My sister’s irritation peaks, her voice dripping with disdain. Somehow my naming sense angered her more than the placement of the nursery?
“Look, I called them by what they do. Simple and easy. Strikers attack, Defenders defend, simple as that. You got to name the hivelings and curators, so naturally I get the other two.” My voice is firm, but inside I feel a pang of uncertainty. Naming them was supposed to be a straightforward task, but now it feels like another point of contention between us. It's not my fault my vocabulary isn't as large as hers.
“F…Fine. I'll let you have that at least. Mother has the final say when she awakes after all.” She explains, her hand colling with her face in a weird gesture. “But the nursery? The nursery is going down a floor. I mean look what you did.” She says, both our eyes falling on the unmoving mass of children below. “They don't even know what to do anymore.”
“What I did? You're just as guilty as I am. The “Swarm,” as you like to call it, needs a leader, and it’s…”
“Me.” We speak at the same time.
An intense stare off ensues, each of us refusing to give in. The tension between us is almost tangible, the air thick with unresolved rivalry.
“If you think I’m just going to back down because you think you know what’s best, you’re wrong!” I shout, my patience snapping. The hivelings below freeze, their wide eyes darting between us.
“You’re the one who’s wrong!” My sister snaps back, stepping closer until our mandibles nearly meet. “You’re too emotional to make the right decisions. This isn’t about what feels right; it’s about what is right for the Swarm!”
“You think I don’t know what’s at stake?” I yell, anger boiling over. “I’m doing everything I can to keep this family together, and all you do is criticize and undermine me!”
The 'Swarm' below is in chaos now, their once orderly movements reduced to frantic scurrying as they sense the rising tension. Hivelings and curators alike pause their tasks, watching us with a mix of growing fear and…excitement?
“I undermine you because you’re reckless!” My sister shouts, her antennae twitching angrily. “You want to lead, but you don’t have a clue how!”
“And you’re a control freak!” I retort, and in the next instant a blast of lightning from her antennae whizzes past me. “D..Did you just try to hit me!?”
“I did. And I missed. On purpose.” She replies rather snarkily, even though she has to look up at me.
“Do you want a rematch that badly? It won't be a tie again, I can tell you that much.” I counter, stepping closer to emphasize my size. I would dwarf mother now as well.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
“Size isn't everything Sister. And mother wouldn't approve of fighting for no reason would she?”
“Mother isn't here. You've said it yourself. We could settle this, here and now.”
“Fine then, we can settle it your way. Don't come crying when you get shocked.” She accepts my challenge, putting some distance between us before she takes on what looks to be her attempt at a fighting stance. Not the she would ever fight in close combat.
The hivelings and curators scatter, making way for our impending clash. The air crackles with energy as we circle each other, mandibles clicking in anticipation.
“Ready?” I growl, my legs bracing for the fight. “Let’s see who’s really fit to lead the ‘Swarm’.”
My sister smirks, her eyes narrowing. “I’m more than ready. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
She moves first, quick and precise, a bolt of lightning shooting from her antennae towards me. I dodge, jumping to the side as I feel the electric charge singe the air beside me. I instantly leap towards her, my legs clawing against the hard rocks as I rush to close the gap. Giving my sister the distance she wants would just make this much harder.
My sudden movement catches her by surprise, and I can see her attempt to flee result in her simply flinching. I bring my hands together and bring it down on her head with a swift strike of my own, using my larger size to my advantage, but she’s nimble, ducking and rolling just out of reach.
“You always did rely too much on brute force,” she taunts, firing another bolt that grazes my leg this time, sending a jolt of pain up through my carapace.
I grit my teeth, the pain only fueling my drive to win. To prove that I'm not beneath her. “And you've always underestimated me!” I retort lunging forward again. This time I anticipate her and swing my two front legs to intercept her, landing a solid hit that sends her sprawling.
She recovers quickly, her eyes blazing with anger. “You're not the only one who's gotten better control of their powers,” she snaps back, teleporting a few dozen feet away. She launches another bolt of lightning, this time aimed at the ground in front of me, forcing me to veer off course. I recover quickly, but she's already on the move, just keeping out of reach.
You think you can keep running?” I screech, frustration seeping into my voice. “Face me!”
She smirks at me, her antennae cracking with energy. Not good. “Why would I do that? You know how this works. I just have to wear you down.”
I growl in response, letting the familiar energy course through my legs. I may not have inherited some of Mommy’s abilities, but I know how to use what I have. I dart towards her, but she teleports again, this time reappearing behind me. I spin around, ducking as I narrowly avoid another lightning strike. She's gotten better with her focus.
I dive at her in a pitiful effort to catch her off guard, but this time she dodges, scurrying away. “Getting tired yet?” She taunts, mocking me.
“Not even close,” I reply, though my muscles are beginning to ache just a bit. I channel more energy into my body, pushing myself to move faster, hit harder. She teleports again, but I anticipate her direction and am already on the move, tanking her next lightning bolt as I tackle her head-on. I deliver a powerful blow to her midsection with my arms, the cavern filling either the sound of claw meeting carapace. She protects herself best she can, but I refuse to relent, each blow drawing a bit of blood or damage. But before I can give her a good one to the head, she manages to teleport away, her body working overtime to catch her breath.
“This isn’t over,” she hisses, energy crackling between her antennae. I prepare to dodge, but her next attack takes on a different form, at least a dozen swords of pure unbridled energy thrown in my direction. Most of them hit, but it doesn't hurt as much as when she hits me with a single charge. She's sacrificing quality for quantity?
I dodge her subsequent attacks, the interval for this new kind of attack lower than her singular strikes. I do my best to dodge as many as I can, but the effort is beginning to wear me down. I can feel the strain in my muscles, the ache in my joints. She's playing a game of attrition, trying to exhaust me.
“You're a coward hiding behind your powers!” I shout, trying to use her arrogance as a tool to goad her into another mistake.
She laughs, a harsh sound that reminds me of our mother. “And you're a fool, thinking that brute strength is all that matters! The hive needs me as a leader! Curators are the ones who give out orders, ‘Defenders’ job is to protect, maybe you should learn from what you once were!”
I push her words to the back of my mind and focus my powers again, amplifying my speed to its limit. I dart towards her, dodging another lightning bolt, and close the distance between us in an instant. I anticipate her teleport again, and knowing the limit on her distance, I kick against the ground and do a 180 just a few feet away from her.
She takes the bait and teleports some feet behind me, anticipating a forward attack, but her eyes widen as she takes notice of me already heading in her direction. I know she can't teleport, her speed is lacking compared to Mommy, and my mandibles click in excitement as I rush to close the gap. She makes a last ditch effort to attack, but I prepare to tank it upfront in favor of delivering the killing blow.
Except that everything takes a turn when she releases her stored energy at…the ceiling? She sticks out her arm in an attempt to block..err…point? At me? At my…my feet? I look down and just between us is a lone curator, screeching and waving its antennae frantically.
In a frantic effort to avoid the poor thing I jump over it, and in turn send us both tumbling as I crash into her. It wasn't a real attack, but I must say it felt amazing.
“What the heck was that for!? “Are you trying to get them killed?!" I snap, pushing myself off her. "You know how delicate the curators are!”
My sister, still dazed from the fall, struggles to her feet. “I wasn’t aiming for them, I was aiming to stop you!” She counters, her voice shaky but determined.
“Whatever. It got in the way, but I would've won!”
“You don't know that. Don't jump to conclusions. And It had a reason for butting in the middle of our fight. What were you saying little one?” She asks, her voice calming from its previous high.
“Brothers saw humans. Far. Coming to mountain. No soldiers.” It pipes up, its words grabbing the attention of the entire hive.
Human visitors? Where? When? The kingdom hadn't made any major movements yet. At least not from what we could tell. “What humans could be coming here?” I ask my sister.
“I don't know. We can settle this later. We're about to find out the answer to your question.”
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Physical Increase
This psychic discipline endows psychics with a complete dominion of their body and the cells which comprise it. In this way, they control every inch of their anatomy in a supernatural way. They may boost their strength, increase their speed, or even enhance their reaction time. These applications are typically temporary, but expierinced psychics may maintain one, or several at all times.