004 → All hail the insect queen

[wrigurun]

Characters: Wriggle Nightbug, Open
Setting: Floor 41
Format: Post in action, tags in prose or action
Summary: Wriggle takes a short tour of the new rooms. There's one in particular which catches her eye.
Warnings: Insects and the likelihood of Wriggle being a massive creep.

[Being back in her repaired dormitory was an odd feeling. With repairs completed she was eager to see the status of the meadow and forest that she so often inhabited. Not even caring to check what was in her trunk (she had everything she needed on her person) Wriggle made her way to the stairwell

Almost as soon as she set foot on the next floor down she could tell something was wrong. Even with her short memory she could tell that this wasn't here before. The urge to look and see what was in the cells was almost too much but the stairwell distracted her as Wriggle wondered if the rest of the tower had changed. What if the forests were gone? What if there was nowhere left in the tower that was a suitable insect habitat? No, no that couldn't happen! Wriggle flew down the stairs, skipping over the barred room and almost skipping the one after.

Something caught her attention. It was very slight, a twitch in her antenna. Her curiosity overtaking her, she'd suddenly forgotten all about checking the rest of the tower. Wriggle drifted in, her sense of movement increasing. It was everywhere, vaguely unsettling but at the same time rather familiar. Reaching out to touch the walls she felt something crawl onto her hand. There was nothing unfamiliar about that. Brining her hand closer to her face she tried to get a better look at what it was.

A common garden variety centipede. So all that movement was... oh.

Oh.

Hell

Fucking

YES! ❤

Wriggle had not been this excited since she arrived at the tower. Making her way furthur into the room she reveled in the company of her newfound companions. A throne room fit for insect royalty such as herself. They chorused at her command and bent and shifted at her will.

This floor belonged to her]

Comments

[geometry]

[Bugs. Bugs everywhere. Bugs on the floor; bugs on the ceiling; bugs on the staircase; bugs on hiS ARM OH MY GOD GET THEM OFF.]

[So maybe now would be a bad time to mention one of Equius' many... problems. Bugs. Bugs are A Problem. Technically anything that's less than air-vacuum clean is a Problem, but for the most part he got over that as soon as he saw the frog-infested swampland that was the Land of Lotus and Frogs. He got over water and most natural objects, with the little croakbeasts everywhere. But there was one thing that he absolutely could not stand under any circumstances, and that thing was bugs.]

[He didn't want to step off the staircase, just because look at the floor in that room; it was crawling with the stuff. At least here he could see the floor, and that meant he could squash a few of them without more crawling up his leg. So this is what he does, squashing and flailing and trying to kick them back down, until he notices a familiar figure in the distance. Oh my god. Wriggle. Fucking Wriggle. Of course she would find her way in here. Oh my god. So, being totally helpful as usual, Equius called to her from the stairs.]

Get out of there!!

[He wouldn't have held it against her if she thought he was a girl by the sound of his voice.]

[wrigurun]

[Being just as unhelpful, all Wriggle can do is smile and wave]

Hey Equius!

[At least until she sees the crushed corpses of many insects beneath his feet. Her memory may be a little short and she may be a little scatterbrained but she's by no means stupid. Furrowing her brow she sends the command and a swarm of bugs scatter out from the main room, engulfing his feet and trying to drag him in]

It's really rude to kill my friends you know!

i am so sorry

[geometry]

[...]

[If Equius could hear her question, he certainly would have answered, but he couldn't. He was too busy screaming and clinging to something, anything, that would stop these bugs from dragging him into a feufruigbiturgh3uitfctrubegifirtuhgjkdhjiigtgjifehuirhg SYSTEM ERROR SYSTEM ERROR SYSTEM ERROR]

Equius you precious baby

[wrigurun]

[Honestly, she should have expected that reaction but it really does frighten her. Calling back her insect foot soldiers she makes sure to clear the area around his feet from anything that could get killed. Swarms of bugs lift to meet her feet at each step as she makes her way across the room to him]

C-come on Equius, calm down. I mean you completely deserved it but please stop screaming. Equius? Equius? Hey, can you hear me?

his life is quality

[geometry]

[Yeah, she kind of really should have. It took a while for Equius to realize that the bugs were gone, but after he did, he began to calm down... slowly. He looked up and saw Wriggle again, closer this time, not even bothered at all by the bugs; they just stood on helpfully, making a clear circle around her feet.]

D-did... did... d-d-d...

[What a dip.]

[wrigurun]

Did...?

[She leans a little closer, as if trying to read the answer on his face. Really, the circle around them was more for the safety of the bugs but a semi-almost-not really-coherent Equius was also a plus]

[geometry]

D-did you... do that?

[He was still pressed flat against the spine of the staircase, looking at Wriggle the insect queen with wide eyes.]

[wrigurun]

[She gave a curt nod]

Yeah, I did.

[There was definitely no beating around the bush. To further emphasize the fact she turned back to the crowd of insects and with a brief hand movement, as if ushering them away, they crawled back into the safety of their room]

[geometry]

[The retreating bugs did a little bit to calm him, to the point where he could stop clinging to the stairs. At least he could stand up straight again (or as close to straight as Equius Zahhak could get). It seemed he was having trouble conceiving why anyone would want to be near them at all, much less control them.]





...Ew.

[wrigurun]

[Looking less than amused, she stomps down with as much force as she could muster (which wasn't a lot) aiming towards his feet]

If you hate bugs so much then why do you even talk to me?

It's your turn on the WHAAALEEEE log, by the way

[geometry]

Because you're not a... an actual...

[He's hopeless. Okay, mun's going out to drink, see you all in a few hours (or not).]

It is? Ah, sorry I was waiting for Gamzee

[wrigurun]

Not an actual what?

[She glared at him, trying to simultaneously get the whole sentence out of him and guilt him for it]

Nope, Gamzee and Tavros left

[geometry]

...actual bug.

[Ew ew ew ew ew.]

[wrigurun]

Of course I am! Just because I'm a youkai doesn't mean I'm not a bug. I didn't always look like this you know.

[Of course that was a time she could barely remember but it was a time none the less]

[geometry]

W-well you don't look like one, then.

I mean... you're still... relatively normal...

[wrigurun]

So you just don't like them because you think they're ugly?

[She folds her arms, antenna twitching slightly, looking as angry as a short girl in a cape could. Which as it turns out is very]

You can't just kill things because you don't like the way they look!

[geometry]

No! [Come on, give him some credit. He's not that pathetic.] I... I don't like them because they're dirty and disgusting and carry far too many nasty diseases, thank you.

[wrigurun]

Disgusting?

The same could be said for most humans but I don't see you trying to kill them off! They carry disease too!

[geometry]

But bugs carry more. [Not to mention that humans are always sick anyway when they carry the disease, whereas insects aren't.]

[wrigurun]

Oh really? And I bet your species is the pinnacle of cleanliness!

[She takes a step forward, poking an accusing finger at his ribcage]

You and your stupid empire and your know-it-all attitude your too scared to do anything!

[By now Wriggle is just angry at everything, she never was exactly good at debating and she just spouts out the first thing that comes to mind]

[geometry]

Well, I try to be. [No comment on the rest of the species, though.]

[ He backed up when Wriggle came closer, poking her finger into his way-too-prominent ribs, unable to come up with a good response to that. Besides, Wriggle was being really angry right now, and in light of recent events, anger was probably not a thing he ought to be exposing himself to on a regular basis. So in true Equius fashion, he tried to shift the conversation to something else. In doing so, he proved her point exceptionally well.]

...O-okay, fine. Fine. [He backed up a bit more, pressed against the spine of the staircase.] Let's just... not do this, alright?

[wrigurun]

[She stopped poking him and put her hands on her hips. She didn't get any less in his face though. It was definitely hard to pick up on the underlying atmosphere. Wriggle wasn't always the best at reading the situation but right now all she could think about was the anger smoldering away inside her]

Why? You started it! See? Scared of everything!

[geometry]

I'm sorry, I'm sorry!

[And right now, he absolutely was.]

I... okay, I am scared of everything, alright?! I know! Can we just do something else now?

[wrigurun]

[It isn't particularly satisfying to hear, in fact quite the opposite. Despite that she backs off, letting out a low grumble]

You can do what you want, just leave me and my friends alone...

[She really doesn't care what Equius does as long as he doesn't commit another insect genocide. With a rather large sigh she starts to drift back into the crawling abyss, all of a sudden tired out from the yelling]

[geometry]

...I'm sorry.

[And that's a third time. He's really good at this, clearly, but his voice is quieter and it seems he's now talking about something else.]

I'm sorry I... hurt them.

I'll just. Go.

[Slowly, doing his best not to step on any more bugs, Equius began moving more down the staircase. Maybe he'd... go to the galaxy floor. Yeah. Go huddle in there again. There was no more Gamzee, right? He should be able to calm down... hopefully.]