Chapter Text
The tension in the room is thick to the point she can taste it. They had fought, what, a few nights ago? Tamer has said she never wanted to see her again. Surely she would be mad, surely she would be disgusted if she knew what they had done, surely she would be disappointed to see how unkempt she was. She rubs her wrists expectantly, but nothing happens, they just stood and stared at each other. Tamer takes a step towards her and she panics. She throws the retractable blade at Tamer and makes a run towards the hole. Tamer yells something, probably a swear, and the next thing she knows someone’s pinning her to the ground, wrists being held in place, and someone on top of her. She’s screaming again, saying the same thing she said then. She thrashes until they pin down her arms, and when she tries to kick they hold down her legs. One of them laughs and she can feel the tears swelling in her eyes. A piece of cloth is shoved in her mouth and held there. It tastes bitter, soaked in sweat and blood, likely used to clean their armor. One of them grabs her antenna and then pain shoots through her body. She lets out a muffled scream of pain. They have their hands on her neck and they’re squeezing. She can’t breathe! She feels something jab into her side and she nearly vomits from the feeling of it digging around in her flesh.
She snaps back to reality when someone calls her name. Several people are around her, at least four. Tamer’s pinning her to the ground, nothing is in her mouth, no one is laughing. She can feel the warmth of the tears on her face. The coliseum’s menderbug is to her left. To her right is… something. It looks similar to the thief but different. Asymmetrical horns and a frown on their face. Maybe it was the thief? She couldn’t remember, everything was fuzzy and uncomfortable. Her helmet was missing and she was vulnerable. One of them could pull her antenna or ball it up in their fist. “Back up, give her some space.” Tamer orders and everyone acquiesces. “Get to fixing that hole in the wall, I don’t want anyone breaking into my room.” She adds, the menderbug giving her a nod before rushing off to work. Her room? It was Tamer’s room now? “Who does she think she is?” Someone yells, but there’s no one else in the room. She felt the bile in her throat he replaced with anger. They didn’t allow female champions, that's what they had told her! That’s why they ran her off! That’s why they—! She rammed herself against Tamer, knocking her over. In an instant she was at her throat, squeezing to kill. It wasn’t fair! They took everything from her because of this! She felt something hard crash into the back of her head, and she blacked out.
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When she came to, she was alone in her room. Tamer’s room, not hers anymore. The hole had been filled in and the stuffed tiktik was wedged between her arm and her chest. Her head throbbed painfully. The menderbug must’ve hit her over the head with their hammer, or maybe the other Fool hit her with their nail. The moss was comfortable. It was new, too. The room wasn’t furnished yet when she received the key to it, it was newly carved and she was to decide what she wanted in it. She remembered how proud she was, how proud Tamer was, how proud the Lord Fool was. Then she remembered how everyone else looked at her. Anger, disdain, disgust. All at her, all because she was better than them. She sat in silence for a long time.
There was another set of clicks at the door, and Tamer entered the room. “You’re awake.” She stated, closing the door and locking it. This was it, Tamer, her childhood best friend, was going to kill her. Her blades had been confiscated, but she could use her claws. She took a defensive stance, prepared for the inevitable violence. “Where’ve you been?” She asked, taking a step forward.
“I’ve been here, very close.” She answers, dropping the tiktik and rubbing her wrists. Tamer lets out a tired sigh.
“I looked everywhere for you, I know you weren’t here. Where were you?” Tamer asks again. She rubs her wrists again, grooves ingrained into her chitin.
“I already said! I was here! I was here, I promise!” She cried, crawling backward on the bed.
“Stop. Stop screeching, you’re giving me a headache.” Tamer growls. She shrinks back into the bed of moss, pulling one of the blankets over her head. Tamer lets out a loud sigh before approaching the bed. She tenses, prepared to be hit. Instead, the blanket is slowly pulled off of her head. Tamer is looking at her with a sad glaze over her eyes. She puts her hands on either side of her head and holds it, pushing up on her chin so they’re looking eye to eye. “Please.” She begs in a tone so unlike her. “What happened? Where’d you go? Why’d you leave? Please just tell me.” She begged. Why was she acting like this? She never acted like this, always headstrong and deadly, now begging her for something that didn’t matter?
“Didn’t want to hurt you anymore.” She answered. Tears started running down her face. “They said they’d hurt you if I came back, and you said you didn’t wanna see me anymore.” She cried, her weak resolve already breaking. Tamer pulled her into a hug, tears soaking into the fabric of her tan tunic. Distantly, she heard them laugh. Her head shot up, forehead slamming into Tamer’s chin. Tamer put her hands on her head again, keeping their eyes focused on each other.
“I didn’t mean what I said, I was angry. I told you you needed help and not… this. The Coliseum wouldn’t do you any good and when you didn’t listen to me I got mad. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Tamer explained, fingers gently rubbing circles on her back. “What happened though? Who told you they’d hurt me? You know I can take care of myself, you shouldn’t have worried about me.” She asked, pulling her back to look her in the eyes.
“They cornered me, and they dragged me to the stables, and they— and they told me I couldn’t be champion because I was a girl, and then they— and then they— I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t want to leave but they said they’d hurt you they said they’d do what they did to me to you! I don’t want that, I didn’t want you to hurt!” She cried. Her words were barely comprehensible, jumbled together, and spoken so quickly. Her face was surely disgusting to look at by this point, covered in snot and tears.
“Oh Lurker,” Tamer sighed. It took her a moment to realize that wasn’t her name. What was her name? What had it been? Had her name always been her Coliseum title? “It’s okay now, they’re dead, everyone’s dead. The only people who’re still alive from back then are me, you, and the Little Fool out front. Whoever hurt you is so long gone, they can’t hurt you ever again.” Tamer explained, wiping the tears off her face with her thumbs.
“The— the? I thought Lord Fool changed the rules on beast containment?” She asked. Maybe her memory was wrong? Maybe he hadn’t, and the stables were just for feral beasts.
“Yes, he did change the rules on beast containment, but I don’t see what that has to do with—“ Lurker, that was her name, cut her off by grabbing the sides of her face.
“That isn’t a Fool, it’s a Nosk. One of the Lord Fool’s first followers, remember?” She asked. Tamer stared at her for a moment, dumbfounded before scratching her chin.
“I suppose that does explain some things.” She mutters. Lurker lets go of her face, arms falling limp by her side. She lets out a giggle that quickly devolves to laughing that makes her chest hurt. Tamer lets out a snicker as well, and although it sounds fake it makes Lurker feel safe. She’s still tired despite just being unconscious for several hours. She hears a creek and she silences, searching the room again. Still empty.
“How is the Lord Fool? I have been meaning to apologize to them.” Lurker asked, eyes running along the edge of the room before landing on her. Tamer froze for a moment.
“They’re dead. They’ve been dead for a long time. It was a dual assassination attempt pulled on the King of Hallownest and the Lord Fool. The King of Hallownest lived, the Lord Fool did not. We killed the Fool who did it, but no one’s got the guts to move the Lord Fool’s body. It just seems wrong to take them away.” Tamer explains. Lurker feels like she might throw up again. The Lord Fool was the closest thing she had to a real parent. They gave her a purpose, a title, a name, and now they’re gone. She hugs her legs close to her body and rocks gently, trying to keep herself from crying again. Tamer places a hand on her back, trying her best to comfort her but the contact just makes her feel worse.
“It feels like it’s only been a few moons, but it hasn’t, has it? I’m not remembering correctly, somethings wrong. How long has it been?” Lurker asks.
“It’s been years at least. I don’t know, my memories just as fuzzy as yours.” Tamer explains. “I wasn’t conscious for most of it, barely noticed when I woke up and my beast was dead and gone. There was a disease while you were gone, it infected almost everyone, and then it just disappeared.” Silence filled the room at that. Uncomfortably long and suffocating. When she was alone, Lurker would fill the silence with whatever noises she could make, but now making noises didn’t seem like fun.
“The Coliseums over. We aren’t getting any more Fools and barely anyone is showing up. They all died to the end of the infection, so did most of our beasts. A spider in red came by and told us to move upwards to the surface, so the few of us left are heading that way.” Tamer explained, prying one of Lurker’s hands away from her legs and holding it gently. Much gentler than she ever was before. “I gave you a choice before but I’m not giving you one now. I’m sorry, but I’m not going to let you run off again. I promise I’m not going to let you get hurt. We’re gonna move up to the surface and you’re gonna get help.” Tamer explained, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. “The only question is if you’re coming with me, or if I’m gonna have to knock you out again.” They both laughed at that, through the tears and the pain. Lurker nodded, grabbing Tamer’s hand and squeezing it tighter. Things would be okay, she was safe now.