Chapter 17 - Sweet

Lapis fell on top of me and exclaimed, like a verbal firehose, "Giddy galloping glee Grete fleet of feet faster further flying sister you just went zoom and boom and whoosh the best launching loop yet almost caught me you can do it I know you're so fast but we can go even faster break a wall demolish destroy fly fast so fast dash crash smash wooo hoo want some water so wasted and tired never been this tired in forever its something really fun to have someone who can fly like Anise don't you agree she's made such a challenge?"

Anise came up with an antenna clap that hurt like a hard hand slap used to as a human. "Most assuredly. You've improved like nobody else. Shame Sana isn't our age. Citrine may be a lean cleaner, but she can't blast the breeze. And the bowl-over boys have no destination direction."

I eagerly accepted a splash and a wiggle of water to coat my body and throat. I tried to look calm but had a lot on my mind.

Soon after my own instar finished, Riva began her second. She couldn't rest well during the day and often wound up rolling and pressing into my side. I encouraged her to do whatever she needed to feel better. Mother tried all sorts of remedies recommended by the nearby Claycrawler clan. Father, with Sana and Silt, ventured out for a few different ingredients but rushed back early into the night because father said he smelled something that set him on edge.

Solemnly, he explained, "I've only smelled it once before. Back with...the ones that I grew up with. It's a bad smell. Better we speak nothing else of it and stay safe inside."

The rain overwhelmed all other smells soon after that. I could feel the moisture in my...body stuff, especially the depths of my antennas. Though the caverns didn't get wet, a fragrance beyond simple petrichor saturated the air. With the heat, it was exhilarating.

If I were still human, I probably would've torn my clothes off and faced the air conditioner. But, as Grete, it was bliss.

I groomed Riva as gently as she tended to me in my suffering. In my head, her high, breathy whimpers reminded me of scenes from stuff online that was difficult to watch without headphones. Neither mom nor Wiatt ever shamed me, but I always felt a hot embarrassment that they knew.

Every so often, Riva's gaze wandered and her antenna stilled, exhausted. Then, she would delicately flutter in all directions. My antenna would always be there to meet hers and she'd calm down. When the actual instar came, her faint panting broke my heart. Desperately, I begged her to calm down. She could do this.

"I can't! I can't! It's too hard. Please, not again. Oooooooo..."

Mother had done her best to comfort Riva through the pain, reminding her of the same things she told me. Father gave little invocations of the King. Sana offered her best too. Was the second instar more painful than the first?

A part of me could see Riva as a sickly human girl, crying her heart out to anyone who would listen. Gently, understanding that touching sharply would only spread her suffering, I held her and whispered at her side, "You are stronger than me. You are amazing and caring. You can and will do this. I know it..."

At first, it seemed like my words just boiled away like a dab of water in a raging fever but slowly, with each furious breath, Riva stretched her air out and in. She willed herself away from panic and took the longest breath before her entire body tightened up.

Her molt looked even more painful than mine but whenever it seemed like she was ready to give up, I could tell she was focused on me. When she was through, her body had a radiant, elegant luster. Even Flax took notice of her developing sister, while Citrine loudly brought it to the attention of everyone in the cave.

Though Citrine showed her off like a darkly-polished jewel, Riva still never drew attention to herself, instead basking in my sideways lightning strike. Sana divined this meant we were destined to follow in her footsteps as courageous slayers of bright and frightful dangers. Silt just couldn't stop touching us.

Mother added the glow to her bundle of worries, concerned that some deadly danger would spot both of her precious little ones. Riva assured her by scurrying through enough muck and mud that only a slight twinkle of her radiance remained. Still, mother worried. So, I got the girls, the six that I trusted, together and we surprised mother with something that smelled like sweaty, greasy rotten cheese. I didn't bother asking where Sana got it from.

Despite my fading human standards of food, I still had no urge to try it. Mother, however, adored it. Small gifts and cards with XOs and...screw it. Forget my old mom. I'd found myself dwelling on the gripes of the past less and less. The genuine, antenna-wiggling joy of mother meant so much more to me than any perfunctory nod or acknowledgement I had to sift through and magnify before.

But this world wasn't free of things to get over. During a bold sprint with Lapis and Anise, I wiped out and crashed into Tula's side. She practically snarled at me and Flax backed her up. Though they worked to seed it with malicious intent, neither mother nor father read it as such, just urging me to be careful next time. They didn't let it go.

Every chance she got, Flax would say, "Oh look that clumsy little larva lump dump. She can't do anything" as Tula provided the echo to her words. It began with passive-aggressive statements that simply alluded to me and then grew harsher. Not that I tried to cool it down. In fact, I darted right next to Flax's head several times. She tried to scold me publicly but the boys just thought it was cool.

Sana tried to intervene but her form of diplomacy was to urge that we were siblings, that it was pretty cool, and no one got hurt. Then she tackled Silt to the ground as he was trying to sneak up on her. Soon, Flax used every opportunity to trip me when I was racing, crawling along, or just relaxing. She even went as far as to press on one of my antennas so hard that I worried Citrine's stories about them popping off might come true. 

And she regularly reminded me, "I can do whatever I want."

"So can I", I retorted.

"Riva...I know you two are close."

She had my attention but I tried not to appear flustered. "What about her?"

"I heard you tell her she's strong. But she's not as strong as you think. Just a little bit of pressure and runaway Riva is gonna leave a mess. Little runaway runt Riva."

I didn't think through what I did next. Emulating what I'd seen Sana and Silt mime, I kicked Flax as hard as I could. It made her stumble but then she was on top of me, hissing, "I could tell mother. I could torment Riva till she cries worse than her instar. But I want a green sweet and I want it from you."

I told her to take a long walk off a short pier, which confused her at first, but she understood it was an insult, no matter how nonsensical. I cooled off with a race and I was still trying to take down my anger. No crashing into Tula or Flax and no trips.

The tapestry of my family was still on my mind, but I couldn't let go of clipping those few, barbed threads. As I gathered my wits, I renewed a vow that I never should've forgotten. The green sweet.

Pembrick had gotten one but it was only for him. I would get one, but it would be only for me, Riva, and those I cared about. Flax would get nothing, and she would know why. Father's family fell into pain, torment, and ugliness. And mother and father had to purge our family once. If Flax and Tula didn't understand that and what it meant, then they needed a lesson from their little sister, who was wiser than both of them put together.

This time, I didn't waste effort with my best sneaking since the mud had mellowed from the recent rain and races had eroded it into a sleek shape. I thought I heard an echo behind me more than once but the turning and twisting tunnels carried noises from other chambers.

The traffic was even sparser than last time and I soon stood before the opening to the outside. Those vast, looming flowers still inspired awe. But, once at the threshold, something made me halt. It was a smell, a weird one carrying on the wind.

Pausing, I caught several strong whiffs. It could best be described as an oily, lard-like aroma but the most unpleasant iteration. But then, all sorts of musty, moldy smells that surrounded my life now would've been foul to my human senses. Putting concerns of odor aside, I scurried into the dim light.

The fragrance of the flowers overwhelmed me. Pollen was also ever-present. A hint of something nutty made me turn my head. Compared to the dim pallor of Mudwell, the outside felt like an Apple Store splashed with brilliant, colorful patterns. My body wasn't sure what to take in first even as it did its best to ignore that lard-like aroma.

Rushing through the cover of the jungle-like, fresh grass, I wished for a machete to trim through the chaos as the vast umbrellas of taller plants kept me sheltered. At every dance of shadow and light, I crept back into what wells of darkness I could find. Each moment outside felt like an eternity exposed.

The smells crashed together like waves against the shore and I needed to squint and search for a single fish beneath the depths. Just when my nerve was about to cave in, I caught a hint of the aroma. It was faint though, too faint. With the wind and the massive stalks ahead, I could be smelling something from literal or equivalent miles away. Not that I was going to give up yet.

Rushing through a long patch of heavy grass, I didn't stop until something loomed above me in a rainforest of weeds. The burning bright of its color left me blinded for several moments. This was the sweet smell though. However, once I could see again, I realized I had a big problem.

The plant, which most resembled a dandelion, was not only huge compared to me but those feathered leaves were far out of reach. Pushing did send it rocking but no more than pressing on a towering pine might. Shoving again, the wind started to pick up and even lofted me for a second. The dandelion tower fluttered with an echoing creak. Trying to work through the problem, I got upwind.

When the next flash of breeze bent the stalk, I added my weight with a rhythmic motion. It wasn't enough on the first try, but I soon got the hang of it. Working my way up, there was enough fuzzy grip to keep me from falling. Look at that, Flax! No more little larva lump dump who struggles to get on her father's back. I was climbing for real!

A merciful, sustained breeze bowed over the stalk so much that I sprinted to where the leaves were and chomped off the closest one. Biting hard, I had to hang on as I was whipped around. Fighting to keep my grip, I chewed through the plant and held onto my prize. Flailing to the ground, the green sweet, that precious leaf, flipped around in front of me a few times before coming to rest.

Releasing a long breath in the advancing dawn, I tucked my reward under me. But that smell on the air. That strange and lard-like smell. It was getting closer. A lot closer.

Turning into the wind, a thought so deep and primal got through to what remained of my animal brain. Even though I didn’t have an egg sleep to draw from, I knew what it was...

Death. It was the smell of death on the wind.

Not pausing to reflect on that, I ran towards the hole, fighting through the grass for the comfort of darkness.

The tempest of smells and feelings started to fall to that one, bitter aroma. I couldn't smell anything else. Though I feared I might've gotten turned around, the friendly opening soon loomed before the grasses. Scrambling down, I hurried and flailed in the dark. Tripping over one of my legs, I rolled and struggled to get upright. My eyes still adjusting, it didn't take long before I realized the leaf was not near my legs.

Searching all around, I flinched when a figure scurried right next to me. In my dome vision, another joined from behind.

"Little larva lump dump? What's this? For me? You shouldn't have. I'm touched."

Flax.

"...Touched that you would go to all that effort." Of course, Tula followed her, as she always did.

With so many thoughts and fears and feelings inside my head, I hissed at her, "That's mine. I brought it back."

Shifting and twirling the leaf in her grip, Flax countered, "You got it for me. Late, I might add. And not enough to even our deal. And did you give an offering to the King? Oh my, what would father think of that?"

Dammit. I hadn't even considered with the smell pressing at my back. By the nearby opening, something fluttered, and that terrible scent advanced towards us.

Flax didn't seem to notice but Tula caught it right after me, hesitantly saying, "Uh...sis. I think something feels..."

Interrupting, Flax scolded Tula, "If I wanted to hear what you think, I'd say it first." Tula crouched down before Flax continued.

"Oh, Grete, you have no idea how much your pathetic little life is going to change. Now, my rules are fair but absolute..."

"SHUT UP! There's some..."

"NO! YOU SHUT..." she angrily interrupted me.

"YOU STUPID BITCH, I HOPE YOU D..." I fought back.

Our yells died with a swarm of beating wings, like screaming helicopters. One hit the mud right behind Flax.

"What's th..." was all she got out before a flash of iridescent blue cut through the darkness across her neck.

Immediately, her gaze went still and she stared blankly ahead. With a horrific spurt of white against the ground, she gurgled softly, "Mmmaaha...mama....maaama...maaaaaaaa...maaah...pleaaaa...mommee..."

Atop her loomed a cold, emotionless creature. I could taste that hideous smell everywhere as Tula screamed, "VESPERIL! VESPERIL! THEY'RE HERE!"