Archive of Our Own ^beta

 The road to reach the edge of Hallownest's kingdom has been a long one. Mato almost forgot how bright it could look with its ground covered with Wyrm's ashes. The scraps of shells crunch under his feet. He would find great pleasure in it, if hoppers weren't ready to jump at him at any given time. He wasn't used to them yet. Mato rarely left the surroundings of his hut and the Howling Cliffs. He hadn't seen his master or brothers in years, and it was deliberate. Roads parted in different directions, training always came first... and to feel like strangers was sometimes best for his heart. And yet, he was thankful for the little Knight to have come into his life, and brought with it the reassurance that his family was still alive and well. Sure, this relief came with his own bag of bitterness. But as long as everyone was alive, there still was time. And because time is uncertain, he still wished to see someone for the first time in ages.

His small apprentice shared with him a map where it marked a place at the opposite end of his own home. And now he's just coming to it. He can't see it right now because of the landscape. Cliffs and walls everywhere, making sure that you have to crawl your way in to get further. But at least he found it. He sees what looks like the maw of a giant insect open wide, pointing at the sky, but the bench on the side betrays its real purpose. There's no mistake, it's a hut. A hostile looking one, much like the bug who resides in it.

He follows the wall – it really feels like a shell – and soon finds the entrance. Under the vault, spikes give the impression of teeth ready to tear whoever dare enter it. Mato's not afraid. There's no mandibles or tongue that would assure him that it is indeed a giant waiting for its next meal. Instead, he discovers a thick curtain just behind the vault, put there to protect the inside from the cold. With his nail, he slides it just enough to peek inside. He doesn't see anything out of place, and so he gets inside. The inside's warmer, but he can't bring himself to qualify it as “warm” either. In a way, it makes it more unbearable.

“Who's there?”, a husky voice commands him more than ask.

Mato doesn't flinch at the sudden question. He perfectly recognizes whose voice this is. He only has to turn his head to see them. He answers,

“It's been a while.”

Despite him being seated on the ground, Mato couldn't miss him. His brother Oro glares at him. He's wrapped in a thick cloak that makes him more imposing than he really is. Mato acts unbothered. He prefers to use this time to evaluate his brother's condition. He focuses back on his clothes. At first sight, it looks like Oro's wearing the same as his, but after taking a second glance, it is obvious that the materials are different. It makes sense, each climate bears its own particularities, and clothes need to provide for it. He sewed them like his old clothes most probably because he never learned (or cared to learn) another way. Mato would not judge him on that. He never learned to either. Mato examines the other before ending back up on his face. His face seems scratched, his horns pointier but uneven. He's not sure, maybe it has been too long since last time. Oro supports his gaze for a moment, before he lowers his head.

“If you came here in the hope I would pay you my debt, you're mistaken. I have nothing here for you.”

Oro's voice brings him back to reality. He feels more calm despite what his brother just told him,

“So you haven't made any advancements in it? Bet you haven't even thought of it.”

“Then, would you behave and leave me?”

Oro's voice doesn't rise much, but Mato hears his scorn behind his words. Mato replies,

“It took me a long time to reach this place. I hoped you would let me rest first.”

“You hoped wrong.”

For a moment, none of them move. The absence of noise tells Oro that his brother hasn't left yet. He resigns,

“Fine, you can stay for the night but keep quiet.”

Mato's relieved. He walks around the room and gets familiar with its surroundings. He sees some furnitures which looks like they belong in the City of Tears. He wonders if his brother bought or stole them. He resumes his search. If Oro has the same habits as him, then... Soon enough, he finds what he looked for. A poor excuse for a nest, made of worn out curtains and scraps of cloth. He lies on them. Mato feels barely warmer.

“Are you going to stay on the ground?”

“I'm used to it.”

“I can't sleep with someone hovering over me," he complains.

“It was your choice to come here, deal with this problem alone.”

“Perhaps you're afraid to sleep when I'm here?”

With that, Oro stands up and joins him.

“Fine, if it turns you silent.”

Oro tugs at the discarded curtain in order to lie as far as possible from the other. Mato doesn't point it out. Free of Oro's threatening figure over him, his instinct calmed down. He closes his eyes and tries to meditate to fall asleep faster, but fails. Mato's isolation on the Howling Cliffs mades him used to its climate. Here, the night felt harsher. It was strange. The landscape isn't even covered in snow like on the Cliffs, or prone to violent winds, so why is it colder here? Maybe the ash shaked something at his very core. He reaches out to Oro, he looks for his hand or arm under his cloak to see if he was as cold as him. When he touches him, he's suprised to find him warm. Oro must have already been asleep, because his complaints comes in a sleeping voice,

“What do you want?”

“Would you happen to have another cloak?”, he whispers.

Oro, barely awakened, takes some time to answer, “A spare? No... Why would I have that.”

“Can I come closer then? The cold's killing me."

He waits for his answer, but instead of words, Oro stands up. Mato looks up, but his vision is soon obscured by the fall of Oro's cloak on his head. He struggles against the fabric, just in time to see Oro leaving the room. He gets up on his knees and shouts in Oro's direction,

“ Wait, where are you going?”

His brother leaves the hut without answering him. Mato holds the cloak close to him, and follows his brother outside. Despite the time, he easily finds him. The wyrm's shreds never give full place to the night, it always shimmers lightly. He was so used to the deep nights of the Howling Cliffs. His brother is standing in front of a weird dummy.

“Oro, you're going to catch a cold!”

Oro doesn't react to his scolding. Instead, he draws his nail and starts fencing against the dummy. Mato steps closer and directs his attention at the target. He recognizes the shell of a great hopper but what bothers him, is how it is dressed. The hopper wears an outfit similar to his or Sheo's. It struck him that it might be Oro's old set of clothes, discarded because they were not adapted to this place's climate. Still, to see his brother wielding so fiercely against the dummy makes him uneasy. His experimented eye can also tell his technique isn't right there. Oro's using too much energy against this simple opponent. He lashes against it to exhaustion.

“Oro?”

Oro doesn't react – Wether he didn't hear or ignored him, he's not sure. He calls his name again, “Oro?”

Even though he doesn't stop his training, Mato sees a subtle change in his blows. Now he's sure - he is being purposefully ignored. Mato clenches his fist on the cloak. He throws it on Oro. Oro is quick to deflect it to the side with the help of his nai. He turns to face Mato, visibly angry.

“Can't you mind your own business for Wyrm's sake?”

Mato keeps quiet. He retrieves the discarded cloak instead and poorly drapes it on his brother, and softly says,

“Let's get back inside, there's no good in training so late.”

Oro gives a final blow to the dummy's stick, making it fall on the ground. Mato looks at him, before giving Oro a confused look. He ignores it. His voice sounds tired,

“Whatever, alright.”

He bends down to grab the hopper's clothes and throws them at Mato.

“There, you refused mine. Don't complain if this one isn't enough.”

He walks past his brother without giving him a look. Mato puts the cloak over the one he's already wearing, and laments when he realizes that even together, they still aren't as warm as Oro's one. He slowly retreats inside and sees Oro's already lying down. Without questioning him more, he too lies down and manages to fall asleep.

 A few hours passes before he wake up. His mind is still tired, but his body doesn't let him relax. It's still too cold for him, and sleeping only lowered his body temperature. He props himself on his elbows, and realizes they're shivering. His eyes scan the room to see if he could find something more to help his condition. Maybe he could tear some of the curtains on the walls, but that would be disrespectful to his brother's hut. He stares blankly at the void, out of solution. Motionless, he finds out he can hear Oro's soft snorring. He turns to look at him. His brother is sleeping peacefully. Mato almost let a laugh escape. All he had to do to see his brother with a peaceful look on his face, was to wait for him to feel asleep. Sharply, he reminds himself it's not the time for that. Right now he's still cold, and he can't fall asleep again with the night's coolness biting on his legs.

He looks again at his brother. Under the covers he's still wearing his cloak too. Mato truly doesn't want to bother him once more. He could move closer, steal a few inches of cloak and find some warmth like that. It should be enough. There's nothing more he can do anyway. Just a few more hours of sleep and he'll leave. He's seen his brother. He was as unpleasant as ever. Mato shifts to get more comfortable, before the warmth on his side disappears. He opens an eye, and sees his brother sitting next to him. Mato mentally curses himself for waking him up. It's sure now that he will be even more upset. Calmly, he explains,

“Could you lie back there? It's still too cold.”

“Is this a joke?”

“No. I'm close to freezing, there.”

Suddenly, Oro grabs him by the collar, forcing Mato to lift himself with his hands to not choke.

“You come here, you trouble my sleep, can't you show a bit of decency?”

Mato puffs, “I'm only bothering you for one night.” Oro's grip on him makes it difficult for him to breathe correctly.

“One night is already too much!”

He pushes Oro back, “You got some nerve! To think I was the one to help you with nightmares!”

He knows he shouldn't have said that, but it's too late now. He rubs his neck where Oro's hand has been. Mato expected his brother to catch him back and punch him, but nothing came. Maybe he pulled at the wrong string. Oro stands up and puts some distance between them. Mato, still crouched, gets closer. He apologizes,

“Sorry, that was childish of me.”

“I've grown past that. I don't need your reassurance on this.”

“So, you did.”

Mato knows this is another string he shouldn't pull on, but he doesn't want to retreat now. He stands up, and takes a step closer,

“I'll leave tomorrow like we agreed. I'll not return for a long time after that, and leave you alone like you wanted.”

“Then why come here at all?”

“To see you, make sure you were still alive.”

“I won't pay you b-”

“I know.”

It's almost incredible how soft Oro's voice sounded an instant before. Mato almost regrets cutting him short. Oro half-turns his head. 'It's strange', Mato thinks, how threatening he was one minute ago and how shy he seems now. He appreciates this moment, he's aware it won't last and soon enough, Oro will go back to his unpleasant side. His brother inches closer. Mato knows that he won't do more on his own, so he closes the distance by embracing him in his arms. Mato feels the weight of Oro's head resting on his shoulder. He lets him, and just holds him in silence. Mato wishes they could sleep like that, entangled with each other. For the first time this night he's feeling pleasantly warm.

He almost dozes standing, interrupted by the weight leaving his shoulder. Oro's resting his forehead against his temple. Mato releases his grip on him in order to face Oro. Oro tilts his head. Mato instinctively opens his mouth and lets him kiss him. He feels his maxillae tickling the inside of his mouth, before finally finding his labium. He indulges in this, not daring to upset Oro and break this fragile moment. But too soon, the warmth leaves his mouth. It frustrates him, as if he was only given a morcel in lieu of a full meal. The other bug has stepped aside from him. Mato wonders if he showed any sign of rejection that made him act this way, but can't find any. He reaches a claw towards his brother,

“Oro?”

“Don't talk.”, he turns his head away. The tone he used was far from gentle, and Mato feels himself growing tired of his brother's antics. He doesn't want Oro to sweep things under the rug like always. Years and years of barely having any conversation, contact. Mato raises his voice,

“Shouldn't you have something to say about this?”

Oro stays silent, refusing to look at him. Mato doesn't bother hiding his disappointment,

“Fine. Don't face me then, don't face anything.”

A last chance. He waits for Oro's reaction. Still nothing.

“I'm leaving now. I should be able to go back on my own, even at this hour.”

He retrieves his nail and heads to the exit. He sweeps the entrance's curtain to make sure his departure is noticed. Before letting go of the thick curtain, he shots a last glance inside. Oro hasn't moved. He can't see his face from here.

It's not important.

Outside, it seems the cold has gotten even stronger than when he arrived. He shrugs it off. 'It will keep me awake at least', he thinks. With heavy steps, he gets away from the hut. But after only a few steps, he stops. He spotted a small patch of dirt covered with another curtain, next to a litter of broken objects. Curious, he gets closer and discovers a few white flowers. It surprises him to see such delicate ones, so far away. It surprises him too that Oro must have taken care of them. He hesitates taking one. If his brother could grow some, why couldn't he? He isn't less capable than this brute! But there's not a lot of them, Oro would easily see it if Mato picked one. He ponders for a moment, simply admiring the flowers. A gruff behind his back startles him. He quickly turns around, his hand resting on his nail, ready to wield it. He's surprised to see Oro standing in front of him. His eyes rapidly travel down the other's hand, he sees that Oro came with his own nail too. It makes him nervous. Mato don't understand the expression on his brother's face, but he's certain now that it looks more tired than years ago. Oro stares at him, then at the patch. He bends closer to it and, in a single sweep, digs up a flower with its root still attached. With his free hand, he searches through the broken objects and brings out a broken lumafly lantern. Mato looks at him, his claw still on his nail. He watches Oro put some dirt inside the lantern, and then the flower. He props himself up with the help of his nail, and holds the lantern over to Mato. With his voice still full of contempt, he says,

“Are you going to keep your word and leave or keep dragging around?”

Mato looks at the present, - maybe for a too long time - a moment before taking it. Once the lantern is in his hand, Oro steps aside before turning his back to him. Mato watches his cape floating with his spin. He doesn't dare to look away until Oro disappears behind the wall of the hut. For a few seconds, he wonders if Oro will come back, to check if he's gone. But Mato refuses to wait any longer. This time, he leaves his brother's place without looking back.

It takes all the world's prudence for him to bring home this flower safely, but he succeeds. He doesn't have good dirt near his own hut, so for now he opts for a vase, or at least something that will work at such. He finds a broken skull of some insect he can't remember hunting, and decides to put the flower inside. It looks a bit morbid, but for now it's alright. He knows he should go to Greenpath to find something that would help the flower grow, but a part of him wonders how long it could live without his help. Weeks pass without him realizing it, and the flower's still standing proudly on its skull.

One day, the little Knight pays him a visit – Didn't it grow since last time? – and stares immediately at the flower. Mato answers his questioning stare,

“Oh this. I picked it from one of my travels up in the Kingdom's Edge. Isn't it beautiful?”

The Knight tilts its head. It turns around the skull-vase, seemingly examining the flower from all angles. Then, it turns toward Mato, and without breaking anything, perfoms a dash slash. Mato, without understanding why, feels a weight lifting off his shoulders. He laughs,

“Bright as ever. Yes, you caught me. I've been at Oro's place. But as expected, things didn't go well. At least he gave me this flower before I left.”

The Knight doesn't move, waiting for more.

“Please, don't pry too much into it. I know you mean well, but there are things we need to sort out alone.”

It stares at the ground a moment before nodding.

“Thank you, would you join me to meditate?”

It kneels down, a few steps aside from Mato. He looks at it, it can't close its eyes, but Mato can guess it started meditating. He closes his eyes, wonders what Oro's doing right now, and then empties his mind.