...we weren’t getting any closer to the Core. It wasn’t hard to notice, even without the scent-taste of the Lesser Core on my tongue; after all, we had found ourselves at the edge of the black-water again. Not the same edge that we had started at, but it was still an edge. More importantly, it was still far from where we needed to go.

I wasn’t the only one that noticed that, of course. Judging by the roiling waves of [frustration] that flowed through the connections to the closest of my Coreless - except for the Unrepentant One, who still wore his [Little Guardian’s Totem] on the outside of his ore-flesh for some reason - they had long since noticed our failure to advance on the Core.

We had, however, moved around enough that I gained a better idea of where the Lesser Core was hiding. The scent-taste had shifted directions during our travels, and it was clear that it would be found near the center of the ruined many-nest.

The problem was getting there.

“Hey Rowan, we’re not getting any closer to the Nature Core’s sanctuary. Are you sure you know the way?” The Unrepentant One said, his voice lilting upwards at the end in the manner that indicated a question. From the expression on his face, his teeth hidden behind closed lips and brows angled slightly downwards he was...angry? Irritated? Tired?

He really just needed to wear his [Little Guardian’s Totem] properly. It would make things much easier on me.

The newest member of our group, the thin male, matched his expression. I swept my fangs through our connection before it could change. It had actually been all three, apparently. [anger], [irritation], and [exhaustion].

“Well, I definitely knew the way. In case you haven’t noticed though, that doesn’t matter so much when we keep having to turn around and try a different way,” he replied. It sounded slightly caustic somehow, but I couldn’t have explained exactly how, just that it did. I was getting good at this interpretation thing. Well, I was always pretty good, given what I had to work with. Still, I was getting better - though part of me still wished that the Coreless would just learn how to hiss. It wasn’t that hard; I’d been doing it from the moment I was created. While I didn’t expect the same excellence from beings that weren’t created by the Great Core itself, they’d had plenty of time by this point.

I was starting to think that they were never going to learn. I let out a tiny hiss of frustration as the male Coreless continued babbling in his terrible not-hiss.

“It doesn’t help that the crop-towers are probably death traps. It would be nice if we could just take the bridges across them and avoid everything else,” he continued, letting out a heavy sigh. “I’d rather see if there’s an easier way through, first. We might just get lucky and find a straight shot to the sanctuary. Probably not, but it could happen. Maybe.”

Whatever he said, it caused a wave of [doubt] in my other Coreless, though I wasn’t sure why.

They continued jabbering at one another for a short while, though I noticed that the-female-who-was-not-Needle was notably quieter than the rest, one hand idly scratching at my head-scales while the others did most of the talking. Eventually though, she spoke up, the same mixture of [regret/apology/disgust/resolve] that had been present since the death of the tiny Coreless bubbling beneath the surface of her mind.

“No waiting. No going back to Orken,” she said softly with a tone that verged on a hiss. The muscles of her shoulder vibrated underneath my scale-flesh, and I noticed that her hands were clenched in a white-knuckled fist. “We need to find this thing before it’s allowed to spread further than it already is. If that means we have to take on the crop-towers, we’ll do that, but we can’t let that thing run rampant. Not after what it did to -”

Her voice choked off with another wave of [disgust/sadness], and I tightened my coils around her for a moment. There was a tiny spike of [appreciation], but it was muted. Distant.

“I’m not leaving them like this,” she finally muttered.

Will raised his hand. “Okay. Okay, Valera. We hear you. Still, the crop-towers would need to be a final option given the danger involved. I’d rather see if we can just scale the roots first, though the way they move every so often makes me hesitant. It’d be a long fall if they started to lift at the wrong moment, and our armor wouldn’t do much to protect us from something like that. If they hold still, though...” He trailed off, letting the words linger in the air. The-female-who-was-not-Needle brightened somewhat, the corners of her lips turning upwards ever so slightly.

The other Coreless made various sounds of [agreement] as well, baring their teeth more sharply than normal; there was an edge to it, seen in the way that their eyes seemed to narrow, and in the sheer [resolve] that reached me through our connection.

The-female-who-was-not-Needle bared her teeth in return; the expression was radiant in its sheer [relief], though I could taste the [disgust/sadness] that hid beneath the surface like a Tangleroot, ready to burst out at the faintest notice. Faint, but still there.

“Thanks ev-”

Not-Needle paused mid-word, her head jerking to the side and nearly knocking me from my perch. I gave her an indignant hiss in response, tightening my coils. She groaned lightly, slipping a hand underneath her hair and rubbing at her neck in smooth, gentle circles.

“Sorry,” she said, clearing her throat. “Thanks everyone. This means a lot to me.”

I ignored the flicker of [appreciation] carried along by her words, my attention drawn instead to a splash of color that had appeared in the corner of my vision. I followed its trail, pulling myself further along the-female-who-was-not-Needle’s shoulder. Her hand, its many fingers still rubbing away at her skin-flesh, blocked my path.

“Of course, Valera...but are you feeling alright? If you’re hurt...” Will said as I nudged at not-Needle’s circling fingers.

“I might have pulled a muscle in my neck earlier, but it’s not too bad. Just a few twinges here and there, nothing really worth worrying about. The little guy can only heal us up so many times before he gets too tired, so I’m dealing with it for now. Either way, it’s nothing like that little girl had t-” She cut herself short, breathing deeply for a moment. There was a spike of [sympathy] from my gathered Coreless.

“If it gets worse, I’ll let you know - but thank you for your concern, Erik. I appreciate it. I'm okay for now.”

I nudged at her roving fingers again, trying to push them aside. She didn’t seem to notice my efforts, distracted by the other Coreless. I tried to wriggle between the gaps, ignoring the way that the slick liquids that coated her skin slid across my scale-flesh. She was cold and hot at the same time, a thin layer of cool liquid draped over an almost burning layer of skin-flesh.

I heard The Unrepentant One begin to speak, his voice hesitant and stilted. Concerned?

“Listen, Valera...if you find that you want to talk about it, we’re all here for you. We were all there, too. It wasn’t your fault,”

“I kil-” not-Needle twitched again, the sudden movement batting me backwards and away from my goal. I felt a hand come to rest beside me, forming a loose grip on the free space of her shoulder.

“Valera. Look at me. It was not your fault. That girl’s blood is not on your hands, okay? The Nature Core should be blamed, not you. That thing is what hurt her, not you. Don’t punish yourself for it.”

I inched my way along, moving back towards her neck. Her hand began to scratch and rub more furiously for a moment, [anxiety] and [guilt] growing, before finally beginning to settle. She breathed in deep, pulling me upwards with the inhalation, and then I came back down again.

“O-okay, Doran,” she breathed carefully. “I’ll try not to.”

“Good. Now, turn around. Let me see if I can work out that kink in your neck. Your twitching is driving me crazy.” Both not-Needle and The Unrepentant One let out soft exhalations at that, sounds that were not quite [amusement], but were desperately trying to be.

I felt the-female-who-was-not-Needle turn, shifting us around, before The Unrepentant One’s burly hands brushed her great mane of hair over her opposite shoulder. Then one hand reached out, gently holding fast to hers, slipping slightly on the film of thin liquid that coated it.

“Your skin is burning up,” he mumbled under his breath, his brows furrowed in concern. “You should have said something.” His hand lifted, pulling hers along with it -

And froze, having found the colors that I was looking for, collected in a mass of thin, tangled lines running up and down her neck.

Green.

Black.