With a decisively bold step, I enter the queen's hall, before inconspicuously letting myself slowly fall back behind Temia.
It's like in my memory.
A hall that is so large that it's impossible to see its borders in this darkness.
"Shuuuuoooooooohhhhh"
Okay, right back to my trauma.
"What's that?" (T)
"Oh, I don't know. We are miles below the earth so it can't be the wind, I'm asking myself what could possibly be the source of this sound in the queen's chamber!" (E)
"Fine, got it. Tsk." (T)
With increasingly insecure steps we're moving forward until we don't really know anymore if we maybe missed the queen in the dark and are already on the way to the other side of the hall.
A stupid thought how I now realize.
"Shuuuuuuuuhhhhhh"
At first, I believe to see moving shadows in the darkness until my memory gets the better of me and I realize that the shifting that seems to move the whole space I'm looking at in reality belongs to a greater structure.
Which is the queen, simply being so big that one can mistake her as background.
The moment Temia understands as well she stays quite stunned, mouth agape.
I don't know how to act here.
My relationship with the queen is difficult at best.
While I know that my fate wouldn't have been much better without the Formicea's intervention, which was rather mere chance, it's not like I appreciate the one-sided forced body changes to transform me into something useful for them.
However, I know better than acting up against the thirty-meter giant.
"Ehk, hello." (E)
Oh, wait. Could it count as discourteous not to speak in Formicea?
(E)
"Skrukukukuku" (queen)
For a moment I don't know how to understand these sounds before realizing that it was just chuckling.
This decreases the felt tension a bit.
"Whoosh"
Which immediately jumps back to the highest level when she fast lowers down.
The queen's presence is not a bit less imposing than on my first day, eight appendages finding purchase around us, her oval head coming too close to be comfortable before us to a stop.
(queen)
Not a single spoken word but the communication I receive still hits me like a shock, making me almost toppling over.
Temia next to me even gets thrown from her legs, pressing her hands against her reddened head.
(queen)
I need a moment to understand.
Pheromones.
She speaks purely relying on pheromones.
The intensity is still far too overbearing, but at least not painful anymore.
Temia still seems to have problems recovering from this mental onslaught.
(E)
(queen)
"Uh, I don't want to disturb this family talk but why was I even called here?" (T)
(queen)
Well, even if Temia is a proud noble, the queen basically told her to shut up and wait.
And I guess she isn't going to argue with the looming titan towering far above her head.
(E)
(queen)
Sure... After all.
After all this horror stuff!
(E)
(E)
With a decisively bold step, I enter the queen's hall, before inconspicuously letting myself slowly fall back behind Temia.
It's like in my memory.
A hall that is so large that it's impossible to see its borders in this darkness.
"Shuuuuoooooooohhhhh"
Okay, right back to my trauma.
"What's that?" (T)
"Oh, I don't know. We are miles below the earth so it can't be the wind, I'm asking myself what could possibly be the source of this sound in the queen's chamber!" (E)
"Fine, got it. Tsk." (T)
With increasingly insecure steps we're moving forward until we don't really know anymore if we maybe missed the queen in the dark and are already on the way to the other side of the hall.
A stupid thought how I now realize.
"Shuuuuuuuuhhhhhh"
At first, I believe to see moving shadows in the darkness until my memory gets the better of me and I realize that the shifting that seems to move the whole space I'm looking at in reality belongs to a greater structure.
Which is the queen, simply being so big that one can mistake her as background.
The moment Temia understands as well she stays quite stunned, mouth agape.
I don't know how to act here.
My relationship with the queen is difficult at best.
While I know that my fate wouldn't have been much better without the Formicea's intervention, which was rather mere chance, it's not like I appreciate the one-sided forced body changes to transform me into something useful for them.
However, I know better than acting up against the thirty-meter giant.
"Ehk, hello." (E)
Oh, wait. Could it count as discourteous not to speak in Formicea?
(E)
"Skrukukukuku" (queen)
For a moment I don't know how to understand these sounds before realizing that it was just chuckling.
This decreases the felt tension a bit.
"Whoosh"
Which immediately jumps back to the highest level when she fast lowers down.
The queen's presence is not a bit less imposing than on my first day, eight appendages finding purchase around us, her oval head coming too close to be comfortable before us to a stop.
(queen)
Not a single spoken word but the communication I receive still hits me like a shock, making me almost toppling over.
Temia next to me even gets thrown from her legs, pressing her hands against her reddened head.
(queen)
I need a moment to understand.
Pheromones.
She speaks purely relying on pheromones.
The intensity is still far too overbearing, but at least not painful anymore.
Temia still seems to have problems recovering from this mental onslaught.
(E)
(queen)
"Uh, I don't want to disturb this family talk but why was I even called here?" (T)
(queen)
Well, even if Temia is a proud noble, the queen basically told her to shut up and wait.
And I guess she isn't going to argue with the looming titan towering far above her head.
(E)
(queen)
Sure... After all.
After all this horror stuff!
(E)
(E)
