[PRP] Sophitia's Shell (Aerona)

[Sypon]

Aerona experiences the consequences of being bitten by Lorata's lusus at Bloodfest.
Bloodfest Memorial Scroll solo for growth

 

[Sypon]

Somewhere in Civisect…

Aerona and Sophitia ran. Bleeding and crying, and having lost the feeling in her arm, Aerona was frantic. She was humiliated and afraid. The enormous lusus she had faced was a nightmare – a pillowy cloud strung with hydra’s heads and filled with malice. She could only hope that its fangs weren’t filled with deadly poison. But as she ran, the fear began to blot out her vision. Her lusus, covered in shards of deadly exoskeleton and still looking on the offensive, grabbed onto her hand. They needed to get to safety. A nearly unconscious redblood was not safe in the newly erected Civisect City, Bloodfest or not.

Charging down the sidewalk, Sophitia scrambled into an alleyway to check upon her charge. “Sweetheart – Aerona?” She finally inquired through hissing breaths. The redblood’s eyelids fluttered and red tears streamed down her face. She was uneasy on her feet. Her arm now hanging limp and numb, Aerona clung on and wept weakly like a wiggler. The vague thought dawned on her that she might never climb again. She hyperventilated, and her vision became spotty. As she did, the feeling in her arm pulsed and crawled from the deep bite.

Aerona crumpled into her lusus’ small claws. Sophitia shrieked with horror, clambering and trying to reposition herself to better care for her child. Hooking her talons under Aerona’s arms, she lifted her to gently place the child against the wall in a sitting position. Next came medicinal efforts. Tiny probing pokers touched around the wound. Perhaps a typical toxic bite, but when cared for it would only linger for a while. The herbs up in Busthind would have cured such an adder’s bite, but the stings of an aquatic animal were out of Sophitia’s understanding. And even then, where would she find such things? She chittered and whirred in terrified concern, but soon resigned herself to focus. Aerona’s jacket. She unzipped the tarnished garment and tore off a strip of Aerona’s undershirt to wrap around her forearm. Aerona’s red blood soaked the cloth immediately; Sophitia resisted the urge to whimper. She had failed to protect her child.

With harried thoughts, she continued to dress the wound. Aerona began to rouse somewhat, breathing and mumbling erratically as Sophitia continued her ministrations. The lusus shifted to see if anyone was coming their way, and elected to move her child as quickly as possible before they were found. They had to make it back to their lodgings, and quickly. Sophitia carefully re-zipped Aerona’s jacket and bundled her up in her arms. It took all of her energy, but in extending her legs to their full length she was able to carry her. Sophitia’s exoskeleton began to crack. She felt the seams begin to burst under the duress of her defensive maneuver, and under Aerona’s weight it wouldn’t last much longer. A deft move up a trash can and over a dumpster, and Sophitia was able to traverse the alley with relative ease. Her child had picked up some climbing techniques from her, after all, and with multiple legs spread over the surface of the ground nearly any surface was simple for the carapacian lusus to traverse.

Sophitia ducked into a fire escape and made her way up the metal staircase. New highblood lock-down protocols and fancy Alternian technology were hardly on her radar, and it was by a miracle that she did not step in one of the many security systems in the nearby hivestems. She sidestepped an exquisitely furnished balcony, twisting her body to latch onto a power-line with her hard exoskeleton and swung down onto a lower rooftop. Sophitia caught the edge with her front legs and pulled herself up from horizontal, balancing Aerona with care in her small arms. She was beginning to lose her grip, and the hostel was blocks away, still. Sophitia began to fret. She had no choice but to swing Aerona onto her back – which was currently covered in thick, jutting spikes. She had no choice. Sophitia gingerly arranged Aerona on the rooftop and climbed higher, finding another fire escape and scuttling up its sides until the alley grew miniature down below. Steeling herself was no easy task, but as Sophitia stepped up with all of her legs onto the highest bar of the rail she understood what had to be done. She slowly turned around. It was a deft movement; each segmented leg twisted and turned with grace as the body rotated on a single precise point. Her back faced the alley, gaze inward towards the building. Soon, up to the sky. Sophitia fell off of the fire escape. Posture curled as she descended, bracing for the impact. CRACK.

Sophitia’s back split wide open. Her torso was shattered, hanging on by threads and chunks of debris still clinging onto her inner, fleshy self. The spikes on her back had snapped clear off. She could put her baby over her back now and not worry about harming her, but at what cost? The lusus’ sacrifice was a desperate one.

Uncurling quickly, the sting of the fall resonated through every segmented limb. It would have been exacerbated if not for her shell – a thankful thing – but the lusus, stunned, would need to move quickly. She cleared her vision of red tinge and scaled the building to collect her charge. Sophitia all but threw Aerona over her back, and positioned her arms so that she could hold on tight. The lusus’ priority was now speed. They could not afford to be stopped. Sophitia got down, low to the ground. Her body was nearly parallel to the ground, legs spread out as far as they could go for as much spider-like speed as she could muster. It was a sprint, like hunting game. Her target was a few blocks away. Sophitia set off like a rocket.  

[Sypon]

It was by no small miracle that the redblooded lusus and her charge made it back to the hostel soundly. But, by no means did they make it in one piece.

Sophitia’s exoskeleton had almost completely chipped off. In the hostel’s respiteblock she had literally fallen apart, and bits and pieces of sharp chitin were scattered through their entrance and near the recuperacoon that Aerona was currently dozing off in. The scant supplies provided at the lodging were enough to ensure Aerona’s safety, but it would be a rocky and painful night even with the dulling effects of sopor slime. Nonetheless, the effects of the bite would have been far more damaging if not to Sophitia’s quick actions. The lusus tended to herself. She was fleshy and pale – nearly translucent, but thankfully the light in the room was dim enough to hide her humiliation. She was ugly, and weak. And she could not protect her young. A lusus’ most important, paramount job.

Sophitia puttered around the hostel for a while, her mind aflutter with the recent events. At first, she simply picked up the mess she had made, but after depositing the pieces in the trash the lusus was still preoccupied with thought. She arranged some snuggleplanes against the wall, scooted chairs and pews around community nutrition surfaces, and tried not to make a fuss of the other trolls lodging. The restless lusus eventually settled next to Aerona and propped herself up on a chair. At this point all she could do was wait. She began to chip off the final remains of her exoskeleton. It was a reluctant move, but to grow the shell back stronger she had to replace it completely. Sophitia tried not to shed a tear as her protective covering flaked onto the ground.  

[Sypon]

Aerona awoke in a cold sweat. She had been crying, and the sensation of the sopor slime combined with her other conditions was jarring. A disoriented few blinks, and she went to move – a bad idea. A sharp jab shot through her arm. Aerona whimpered and sunk back into he slime. She had no idea where she was. Her blood pusher pounded against her chest. Aerona finally concentrated. She peered up at the ceiling and smelled the air. She was back in their Bloodfest lodgings, at a small hostel on the outskirts of the city. There were few places for lowbloods to stay in Civisect, and shoddy temporary lodging was all that was available (if that). She had boiled with rage about it when she and her lusus entered the city, but now she could only be thankful she was alive.

With a great deal of pain, Aerona pulled herself up to look over the mouth of the recuperacoon. Sophitia was there, by her side – totally nude. She had fallen asleep curled up, in a pathetic state. It was a jarring sight, and Aerona released a small gasp. She had never been out of the hive like this before. Molting occurred occasionally, but perhaps once per sweep. She never needed to exert herself so much as to break off her shell, and when she got rid of it she was a bright, squishy target. Sophitia was helpless because of her. And… She was helpless, too. Aerona choked back the thought of confronting Lorata without a guardian and sunk back into the sopor. It was a horrible one. She checked her arm and clutched it close to herself, also curling up in her small and vulnerable state. This would pass. She would get better, and Sophitia would regrow her shell. There was no way around taking the blame. Aerona couldn’t even pin her frustrations and fears on Lorata. She didn’t want to think about her. Something needed to change.

Sophitia looked as defeated as she, but she had done nothing wrong. Aerona’s chin wobbled. She had few thoughts to occupy herself that would carry her to sleep, but Aerona eventually dozed off all the same.  

[Sypon]

When Aerona finally roused, Sophitia was already up and milling about the common area. The smell of eggs and biscuits wafted through the ear, making Aerona’s eyes water with just the scent. Sophitia had procured merchandise - a Bloodfest sweater from the Boardwalk in the early evening, and donned it with a little red scarf. Her back was turned; she slipped quietly back and forth between her dabbling at the community convection-block. It appeared as though she had created meals for a number of lowblooded trolls who were on their way back to the festivities. Aerona quietly wiped her cheeks, washed off and got dressed.

“M-mom?” Aerona chirped. Sophitia turned around and gave her charge a wrinkly little smile. Aerona fiddled with her long hair, careful to avoid using her injured arm. “I’m real sorry. I’m not gonna cause any trouble any more.”

She teared up again, and Sophitia embraced her in a hug. It was a strange sensation, being pressed into Sophitia’s warm flesh. Usually the sensation was cool and hard. Aerona clutched her and sniffed. “Thanks for saving me. I love you…”

Sophitia’s maw wobbled and she handed Aerona a plate of breakfast. She crossed her little hands across her stomach and addressed her child in a level tone. “Thank you for apologizing. It was very dangerous what you did,” Aerona nodded. “You need to be more careful, especially around trolls of higher caste.”

The sentiment stung, but Aerona nodded again solemnly. “We can go back to Bloodfest and enjoy the rest of the festival if you would like. You will be apologizing to that purpleblooded girl as well.” She finished. Sophitia handed Aerona a glass of juice as the redblood’s face sunk. She was over being petty and prideful, but the mere thought of seeing her again was enough to make her bile sack turn. Aerona tried her best not to lose her appetite.

“O-okay…”

Sophitia gave her an uncharacteristically smooshy kiss between the horns. Aerona smiled weakly and hugged her lusus again, plate in hand. She sighed. Right now, she was just happy to be well. Her energy started to return. Sophitia released her and fetched a schedule of Bloodfest events, reassuring her charge. Soon, Aerona had clambered over to the table and made herself at home with her meal. Aerona’s pace quickened as Sophitia chattered at her. She chomped down the creamy eggs with increasingly enthusiastic bites, and soon Aerona was feeling a great deal more lively.

“Now, if you finish your food we can go get in line for a carousel ride! I would like to stop by that lovely greenblood’s booth and sift through some antiques, and I know you were looking at those caramel apples yesterday. I believe the lottery is also scheduled for today …”

She could still finish strong.


End