Stranded Lullaby (Closed with sillysadass)

[Salamander]

The wind tore through her thin cloak, battering her carapace with powdered ice. The cold easily seeped in between the chitin plates, and she shivered involuntarily. Crim lifted her face to scan the horizon, squinting her eyes against the wind. The land was bleak, and blindingly white. She sighed and tried to scrape the frost from her mask. Her antennae were completely numb and coated in rime. Another burst of wind brought dagger-like hail. “Shit...”,  she muttered, wincing and pulling her cloak tighter. The tattered fabric whipped around her as she pushed herself forward. She shouldn’t have wandered so far from her camp. Though, she imagined that freezing to death out here would still be more pleasant than starving in a cave. Under one arm she carried a bundle of old wood, as well as a bag of dried out mushrooms and miscellaneous foodstuff. She’d looted them from the resting place of a long dead adventurer. Apparently she wasn’t the only one risking death to escape the Infection.  

Finally, in the distance, she could see her destination: a spire of stone jutting out from the rocky landscape. Hidden underneath was the mouth of a cavern that served as her temporary home. Crim clambered over the icy boulders, carefully balancing herself with her vestigial wings. The wind picked up and howled viciously, threatening to send her careening off the path. She quickened her pace and broke into a run, not wanting to get swallowed by the storm. She stumbled forward into the cave, gasping for breath. The shrieking wind immediately quieted, reduced to a faint whisper by the sturdy walls. Her legs trembled, and quickly went out from under her. She breathed heavily as she lay collapsed on the floor, her frozen body slowly thawing out. “Ugh…” She groaned, peeling her mask from her face. She blinked slowly, eyes adjusting to the darkness. After a few moments of dejected self-pity, she rose and ventured deeper into the grotto. A few glowing shrooms lit the way. She'd thought about eating them, but knew all too well that they were deathly toxic. In the far back of the cave was a larger chamber, overgrown with moss and lichen. It was bitingly cold, but still considerably warmer than the storm outside.  Crim dropped her bag and settled by the cold ashes of a long dead fire. She set the wood she had gathered aside, as it would have to dry before it could be burned. She absentmindedly flicked a bit of snow off her thorax, and got to work prying the icicles from her antennae. There was no way she’d be venturing out again any time soon. She thought back to the poor soul whom she'd found dead in the snow. Hopefully no one else was out there meeting the same fate.

[sillysadass]

It was a foolish option to venture out here without preparing. Vespa realized that. The cold harshness of the kingdom's edge tore at him like a stick in a hurricane. His grassy cloak blew in the storm, giving little protection from the freezing winds. It was rare for a colony bug like him to be sentient, especially with the queen still alive and uninfected. He scanned his surroundings before opening a tattered mask he bought from a traveling cartographer. That couldn't be right. The surroundings didn't show up on the map. Vespa closed his map and assumed he was already outside of Hallownest until a primal aspid corpse greeted him. Its bright orange acid sac slashed open and leaking as if someone had freshly slain the creature. "Still inside..." Vespa muttered to himself, his mandibles completely numb.

He was about to press on traveling until the wind picked up in his wings and dragged him several feet across the mountain. The chitin on his back scraping against the compact snow and ice. Once he was able to regain himself from the powerful blast, he decided it was best if he took cover. Somewhere in the distance, he saw a cave that would serve as perfect cover from the storm. Thanking the slumbering gods, he quickly ran for dear life, nearly collapsing when he finally made it inside. The cave was definitely sturdy and kept out all the wind, and hail, and ice. It was deep too, almost intimidatingly deep. It felt like someone was here, and probably wouldn't react kindly to an intruding creature. He looked towards the deeper grotto of the cave, walking towards it cautiously.

[Salamander]

Crim's antennae twitched as she heard a faint footstep near the mouth of the cave. She leapt to her feet, glancing around for her nail. Thank goodness she hadn't lit a fire yet. That would have definitely given her away. She returned her mask to her face and flattened herself along the wall, creeping forward silently. She glanced around the corner towards the entrance, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. But then, a silhouette appeared in the mouth. Crim's heart dropped as she backed away slowly. Who were they? Were they infected? She scrambled back towards the lichen beds, snatching up her rusted nail. Well, she wasn't about to go down without a fight. Not after coming this far. She steadied the nail in one hand, her disfigured pincer awkwardly held to her chest. Then, she returned to her place along the wall, wings fluttering nervously. She stood motionless, lying in wait for whoever dared to invade her sanctuary.

[sillysadass]

Vespa was unarmed, though his stinger could provide an effective subsitite. He could use the fighting technique he had learned from the mantis nymphs he fought a few days before. He jumped up into the air, flapping his wings loudly before wincing and falling back to the ground. The scrapes caused from the wind earlier left his wings and backside raw, the pain disabling him from flight. As he got to the deeper area of the cave, he let out a sigh of relief when he saw it partially empty. There was an unlit campfire and a bag next to it. Ashes of a now dead flame littered the ground; someone must have lived here for a while.

[Salamander]

She pressed closer to the wall as the tell-tale sound of buzzing wings filled the stale cave air. She prepared for an aerial attack, but paused when she heard a muffled thump, almost as if the flying assailant had fallen. She readied her nail in apprehension. When the intruder came around the corner, Crim blinked in surprise. A wasp? Odd, what would a colony bug be doing out here? She tilted her head as they sighed. They didn’t seem infected, but one never could tell if it was the early stages. Besides, she couldn’t think of any other reason for them to leave their nest. Not wanting to take any more risks, she lunged out in an attempt to tackle the bug to the ground. If they were infected, she wouldn't hesitate to kill them on the spot.

[sillysadass]

A surprised yelp came from Vespa as he was tackled to the ground. A hostile inhabitant, just as he suspected. He struggled and writhed in Crim's grip, his stinger swinging furiously from his behind as he tried to fight back. Vespa tried to turn around to see if his attacker was infected. This strength was far stronger than any bug he'd met or fought, he remained firmly in the mantis-scorpion's arms. Next he tried to roll over to get her off of him. She was far too heavy for him. After a good while of struggling and squirming like a grub in the dirt, he finally ran out of energy and ceased.

[Salamander]

Crim grunted as she forced the wasp to the ground, swerving to the side as she narrowly missed being stung. “Who are you?!” She demanded, pressing the edge of her nail to her opponent’s throat. “Speak up! Are you infected?” As his movements slowed, she released her grip slightly. “Show me your eyes.” She added in a low tone, leaning down to look at him closer. She grabbed him by his shoulders and flipped him over, so that they were face to face. Gingerly, she moved his mask to one side. There was no trace of the infamous orange glow that accompanied the plague. She relaxed somewhat. So this was just a normal intruder. To be honest, she wasn't sure if that was better or worse.

“Here. Look.” She lifted a hand, keeping her pincer pressed firmly to the wasp’s chest, and revealed her own uninfected eye. "Now, what are you doing in my cave?"

[sillysadass]

Vespa stood almost completely frozen as he was held at nailpoint, staring at Crim dumbly while she checked his eyes. He calmed down when she showed him her own eyes. "Thank god." He sighed quietly in relief. Some of the infected somehow still held their sentience, enabling them to become violent, zombified warriors. Luckily, this wasn't the case, not this time. Now would be a good time to answer one of Crim's many questions. "I'm not sure if you noticed, but there is a raging storm out there," he pointed to the mouth of the cave where the wind roared, "it's only natural that I searched for cover."

[Salamander]

Crim said nothing, glancing at the cave entrance, then back at the wasp. She stood silently, releasing him from her grip. She stared down at him a few moments longer, before fixing her mask and returning to her place by the dead fire. Well, he wasn't here to loot, so that was good. Still, she wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation. She certainly hadn't been expecting company. The wood she had gathered was dry enough by now, so she got to work on lighting a fire. It took her a few tries, thanks to her only using one hand, but she managed to get a decent flame going. Red sparks filled the air as the grotto began to warm. Once satisfied with the fire, Crim rose once more and moved over to the lichen beds. She rummaged through a pile of dead moss in the corner, pulling out an old, beat up kettle. She walked past the wasp and to the cave mouth, disappearing for a moment, before coming back with the kettle full of snow. She set it up over the fire, and reached into her bag for a cloth wrapped parcel. As the kettle began to steam, she unwrapped what appeared to be colorful, dried mushrooms. These she dropped into the kettle, which began to emit a strange aroma. Only then did she look back at Vespa. "Tea?"

[sillysadass]

Vespa sat up as soon as Crim released him. He awkwardly stared back at her and as she fixed the fire, he couldn't take his eyes off her. Never before had he seen something bearing the claws and tail of a scorpion, but the face and body of a mantis. As the warmth filled the grotto, he could feel the numbness in his body disappearing and feeling regaining in his nerves and he realized just how long he was looking at Crim, lost in his own curiosity. He wasn't sure how long he had been out there, freezing in the snow and ice, but it was certainly enough to be subconscious of his odd staring.

Vespa jumped when Crim suddenly turned back to him, though he couldn't read her lips when her mask was fixed completely over her face. "Uh, sorry, but can you lift your mask up just a little bit? I can't hear." He requested, motioning to his antennae.

[Salamander]

Crim's own antennae twitched in surprise. Deaf? So that was why he hadn't noticed her hiding... until she ambushed him. Still, this bug dared to travel alone without what she considered a vital sense. She found herself impressed, despite the fact that she'd overpowered him so easily. She nudged her mask a bit higher, revealing her mouth but still covering most of her face. But she did not say anything further. Instead, she simply procured two tin cups from her bag and held them up. She’d purchased them for the price of one from a particularly pushy merchant, and hadn’t thought she’d ever have a use for both. Setting one cup aside, she picked up the kettle and poured a potent, purplish liquid into the other. “Tea?” She repeated, extending the cup to the wasp. The drink had an odd smell, but certainly not an unpleasant one.

[sillysadass]

Vespa looked down at the cup, pondering over the odd scent before accepting it. "Thanks." He said, lifting up his own mask to drink the tea. It had been a while since he had a chance to hydrate himself, so he might as well do that with a warm liquid. The heat pooled in his stomach and throughout his body. It felt pleasent, though he began to notice something off. As his body heat slowly increased, his vision blurred, the brightness of lights seemed more intense, and he felt an odd mixture of dizzy and alert. This was foriegn, yet familiar. It wasn't often for him to feel this way. He wanted to mutter a swear as he was forced into his mating cycle.

[Salamander]

Crim poured her own cup and sipped it quietly, staring thoughtfully off into the distance. It had been a while since she shared a campfire with anyone. She couldn’t even remember her last companion’s name. After all this time alone, it might be nice to have another uninfected soul around.

Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed Vespa looking slightly uncomfortable.
“Hey. You alright there?”, Crim asked. Was he having a bad reaction to the tea? She couldn’t imagine it would take effect so quickly. The mushrooms she used were slightly poisonous,  but were a safe painkiller and relaxant in small portions. That being said, she had built up a strong immunity to them by now, and typically took larger doses... She glanced into the kettle, wondering if she'd accidentally used too much.

[sillysadass]

Vespa took a deep breath and nodded to Crim. "I'm fine." He said almost lustfully. Another odd smell, just faint enough to be noticed filled the cave. Shit, his pheromones were releasing. 'What the hell was in that tea?' He thought. His heat was early, way too early. That of course meant that without preparation, he would have a more difficult time controlling his mating instincts. Vespa found himself scooting closer to Crim.

[Salamander]

She looked away awkwardly. What was with that tone? Maybe she had overdosed him after all. Come to think of it, she did feel slightly off as well. The tea smelled…weird. Weirder than usual. But, in a strangely good way, that she couldn’t quite put a finger on. She raised her cup and took another sip. It didn’t taste any different, but she supposed the mushrooms may have been expired. Crim took a deep breath of air, trying to figure out where the scent was coming from. She hadn’t yet noticed the wasp drawing nearer.

[sillysadass]

Vespa saw through his blurred vision how perplexed the hybrid seemed as she looked away and sipped her tea."What about you, are you okay?" He asked, a hand finding it's way to her thigh. He already abandoned his tea, his attention now completely on Crim. The hand stroked her thigh softly in short motions while he ogled her.

[Salamander]

“What are you— oh, fuck.” Crim winced as the hand touched her, sending a sudden jolt up her spine.  The mysterious scent was growing stronger, and now she had a name for it. She gasped slightly as the thick aroma of the wasp’s heat began to choke out her judgment. She shook her head in a weak attempt to stay sane. Damnit,  why did this guy have to smell so nice?! She glanced down at him, her expression a mixture of confusion and desire. A burning sensation spread throughout her body as her own rut responded to the pheromones. “Yes. I’m…..I'm okay. I’m fine. Never better.” Her hands trembled, causing her to drop her half-empty cup, which landed with a clang and rolled into a corner. Crim tore her eyes away and stared into the fire. A twig snapped, causing another flurry of sparks to fill the cave. ‘What are you doing?! Keep it together!’, Her conscience screamed at her, despite the rapid beating of her heart. Breathing slowly, she placed her hand over the one stroking her thigh. "I've never felt better."

[sillysadass]

The heat became more overwhelming and difficult for Vespa to bear as he crawled over her lap, legs on either side of her thorax. He held onto one shoulder to steady himself while he dizzily straddled the hybrid. He inhaled her own scent, allowing himself to absolutely melt. His sentience snapped back for a brief moment as he blinked bewilderedly. "I'm-- I'm sorry, I should ask for your consent first." He breathed quietly into her antennae. He noticed how she too was having difficulty resisting her rut. "I've never seen someone handle their heat so well..." He whispered.

[Salamander]

The moment he crawled into her lap, she absolutely lost it. She wordlessly wrapped her arms around him. His scent was intoxicating, and she didn't hesitate to drink it in. “By all means, go ahead..” She murmured dizzily, flicking him affectionately with her antennae. She blinked in and out of her primal state, enough to know what she was doing, but not enough to care. “Ah….W-well… It's certainly not my first time… In this… situation.” She chuckled breathlessly. It was true that she’d bred numerous times before,  but her partners never stuck around long enough for her to see if the eggs were viable or just duds. She wouldn’t be surprised by the latter, since she herself was the result of an accidental hybridization. "But how could I resist this?", she flirted. A bit uncharacteristic on her part, but she was too caught up in the moment to worry about appearances.

[sillysadass]

His hips bucked and he pressed his body against hers. He felt like his actions weren't his own, they obviously were not. He inhaled deeply, then exhaled as he let his instincts do their work. As he put all his weight on her, he felt the behind area of his abdomen shift, careful to not sting Crim as his cervix softened and opened. The not-so-virgin flesh opening just a crack to allow an ovipositor to enter.