Spider leaves the conversation with Bas tired, wrung-out and bristling with fury. they stalk through the Col with loud, heavy steps, uncaring who they disturb, uncaring if she hears them coming. she probably expected, has maybe even been holed up in her den waiting for Spider so she can rub her new conquest in their face. Spider marches up to Ignita’s den, rapping impatiently on the entrance - and almost gag on the pervasive mix of scents clinging to every surface. Bas. he coats every damn inch of this place, entangled so thoroughly in Ignata’s scent it’s hard to tell where hers ends and his begin. it only adds another log to the pyre of Spider’s wraith. when they speak it’s cold and clear, if a little frayed about the edges. “my Dad?!”

"Speech"

She sat on the bed, a piece of charcoal in her paws and a blank piece of paper in front of her. She had stared at it, and stared at it and stared at it. She had an idea but every time she was going to put it down it poofed into thin air. She was too worried about how the conversation would go. How Spider would take her new position.

She'd find out soon enough.
Her breath caught as her sharp overly sensitive ears heard the quick short steps of Spider a half breath before they rapped on the door and entered. She was frozen, she had never seen them so... So angry.

Her eyes are locked on the wall in front of her as they practically shout at her.
The charcoal snaps in her paw.

Slowly her golden gaze turns toward them. Concern and guilt ripple across her face as she ducks her head down.
She didn't know how to respond. Her paws were as lead weights.

"I'm sorry." She says, a loud trembling whisper in the room.
"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

her face says it all. if Spider ever needed further proof of Ignita’s guilt, it’s all there in those wide gold eyes. eyes that have held Spider’s own many times over as she’d lied. Spider gives a low growl, needing to dispel some of the anger burning through them like flame on parchment. eating them up until only ash remained. “i thought you were my friend.” they take another step into the den, baring down on Ignita despite their smaller size. “i thought you cared about me. but you lied, and you kept things from me, and you…you slept with my Dad.”

they close their eyes against it for a moment, against the very idea - and when they open them again, it’s to reveal twin flames crackling through their pink gaze. “a real friend wouldn’t do that to me. wouldn’t do those things, knowing it’d hurt me.” stars, they’d really liked Ignita. had really treasured her friendship and her company. fuck. “were we even friends,” they ask, voice growing quiet but no less demanding, “or were you just trying to get close to Bas? did you even care about me?”

"Speech"

Her head low, her paws move without her, toward them. Creeping, off her bed slinking lowly toward their feet. They were right. She did know it would hurt them. She knew it that first night Bas held her close. When the winter winds had bitten down to her bones the only one she thought would warm her then was Spider's father, her master.

"We can-" She tried but they continued, wrenching her heart further.
"I still care! I-" Their words overpowered hers, as was their right. They were right to be angry. She was the cause of Hazel leaving. She was the cause of their split. She was the one who showed Bas what love was, somehow, when she barely knew it herself. She had let it all happen. She hadn't said no. She hadn't pulled away, by the stars! She encouraged it! That day in the mines... They had come so close.

She stopped and looked away, her tears flowed freely. It was so much worse than she had imagined it could be.

A real friend? Using them to get close to Bas? She hadn't needed Spider to get close to Basilisk at all... No... She was the scapegoat.

Spider needed someone to be mad at, they couldn't be mad at Hazel, she wasn't here, they couldn't be mad at Bas... She was the one. Her rapid mind brought forward the connections. She didn't know what to do.

"Spider, hear me. Hear me, please. Just a little!" Let her say her piece before they brought down their fury, she begged. "You are the first friend I've ever had. You are even my closest friend. Please. I do care. I didn't know this would happen, I didn't intend for it to happen. It just did! I care about you a lot! Please!" Tears reflected the firelight. She didn't bring up their promise, the promise they made while under the influence, the promise made with naivety. A promise they made oblivious. No, she deserved this.

"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

Ignita starts to cry, but Spider feels nothing as they watch the emotions wreaking havoc across her pale face. true, they don’t relish in her pain, either - they just feel cold, angry, hollow. her pleas wash over them, desperate and inconsequential. hadn’t meant it to happen? maybe it had been unexpected, maybe she hadn’t planned to seduce Bas all along to escape her songbird rank. it doesn’t matter much to Spider, doesn’t absolve her of any guilt. she’s still the reason Hazel left.

“you broke my family,” Spider accuses. maybe one day, they’ll come to understand what a gross oversimplification this is, that Ignita isn’t the one at fault. but in this moment, it feels achingly, terribly true. the source of all their pain stands before them, misery manifest. “i wish you hadn’t come here. because i-if you hadn’t, Hazel would still be here.”

"Speech"

The groveling fell upon deaf ears. They were unmoved. She didn't blame them.
She didn't know what to do. She wanted the pain to stop for them both, she wanted everything to be right in the world. She also desperately wanted Hazel back, maybe to help smooth over the process or to tear Ignita to pieces.

Limply, she sat up. They were much closer in height and age than she and Bas.

"Yes. I did break your family." She replied quietly, her gaze glued to the ground beside her. It was the truth. And she and Bas were planning on... hopefully expanding the family, and she hoped that family would include her and Spider in it too.

"You're right. Hazel would probably still be here." It was hard for her to fathom the idea of never coming to The Armada.
"But then... I never would have met you. I-I'm really glad to have met you. I never wanted to lie to you." She turned to finally face them, her golden eyes pleading for mercy into their pools of roses. "I never wanted to hurt you. I don't ever want to hurt you." She turned away again, showing them her throat, "But I'll understand if you'll never forgive me." Even though they promised they would. Wet drops soaked into the cavern floor.

"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

she’s perfect, this new mate of Bas’. apologetic, contrite, understanding. every action and word rings with, blame me, hate me. i deserve it. it makes Spider’s teeth ache, that sweetness, and they half wish Ignita would fight back if only so they can feel less like they’re bullying a defenceless rabbit. turns out it’s not very satisfying to tear into prey that’s already given up. advancing on her, Spider moves until they’re a hair’s breadth apart (assuming Ignita hasn’t shifted away), and aims to lift her chin with their paw, the way they’d done at the festival. only this time, they fit their mouth to her ear. “listen to me, Ignita.” not Ig, not Iggy. her full name, hissed like a curse. “you can have your perfect little life here with Bas, with your hoard of children and your scribbles and your books. you can have your happiness at the expense of mine.” they lean in closer, so close their breath is wafting over her face. “but i will have no part in it.” every word is slow and cold and earnest, levied against her like a physical blow. “so leave me alone, got it?”

they turn on their heel and stalk to the den entrance, letting the cold of the outside wrap themselves like a cloak, shielding against the fire raging in their veins. if they’re going to do this, co-exist alongside Bas and his new family, they’re going to have to steel their heart. “as far as i’m concerned, you don’t exist to me.”

"Speech"

"Speech"

Her breath shudders inward as they step nearer. She doesn't know what to expect. She wished they'd just... slap her, knock her over, mark her other cheek to match the scar already there. Maybe they should just fight it out, but it'd be uneven, she knew nothing of actual fighting. They're quicker and stronger than her by far.

Hope springs as they lift her chin toward them, just like the festival but the flutterings of that hope fall to the floor like ash as she meets their rose gold gaze filled with contempt and fury. Her body starts to tremble as they hiss her name.
It doesn't have to be at their expense, they don't have to avoid her! They don't have to do this!

A sob bubbles forth as they let her go and spin away from her.
"Wait... Spider! Please! But you will do one thing!" She says, her voice ringing out, forced through the tears streaming down her face. She's facing them, she's standing. There's a gleaming resolve in her golden eyes as they look at them in the doorway.
"You will acknowledge and nurture any siblings that Bas gives you." She says, a fire within her as she grasps at the one thing that's truly fueled her. "Promise me, if you won't forgive me, be the big sibling for them that we never had. Do not make them pay for what I have done." She takes a step toward them. "I cannot promise to leave you alone as we both have a pack to support, but I'll-" She drew in a shuddering desperate breath, "I..." a choking sob interrupted her. Her knees shook and her legs trembled.

To lose them like this, her closest dearest friend... Her heart will break every day that they hate her. How wrong is it to want them both? Less than a week ago she was a slave held by the whims of the Warlord. A week before that they were down at The Hallows, a week before that, they were working on blacksmithing together...

The war within her was too much. She crumpled to the floor in desperate agony, "Please, Spider! Please don't leave me!" She begged, her voice gaining a desperate shrill.

Spider draws up short at the vehemence in Ignita’s voice, surprised at the fire they hear there. her relationship with Bas has emboldened her, it seems. anger prickles their fur when she mentions siblings - have she and Bas already discussed children, then? how many they’d have? what they’d name them? there’d been a time when Bas had professed a hesitance to have children - just another change thrust upon their world. and who is Ignita to order Spider around? she gets no say in how they treat her spawn (though a part of them suspects they’re incapable of hating Bas’ children.)

Spider turns back to face Ignita fully, a harsh retort poised on their tongue, but they’re pulled up short by the sheer anguish in the former slave’s face. Spider’s brow crinkles, a hint of confusion joining the medley of emotions on their face. she’s on the floor, crying, begging. does their friendship truly mean that much to her? Spider thrusts the thought away with an impatient scowl. clearly not, given the state of things. and yet, they can’t keep themselves from asking, “what does it matter? you’re getting everything you want, Ignita. i’m sure the loss of my company is a small price to pay in the scheme of things.”

"Speech"

The barest hint of a hint of a glimmer of hope ran it's fingers in the back of her head. They lingered in the doorway, turning back to her.

What does it matter?!
"No! NO! I can't-" she wails, clutching her chest, "if I had everything I wanted...!" She choked on another sob trying to get through to the words clawing at her throat like dying demons in the ninth circle of hell.
"You! Please! My heart... will break... everyday that you hate me. I don't know how to fix this. I don't know how to solve this. You're...! But it's wro-! Please. Drawing with you! Talking with you! They were... They were the best moments of my life! Please..." She begged. She could no longer see through her bleary tear filled eyes. Her chin was on the floor reaching out to them, her paws a crumpled mess pressed under her chest. Could they find their way back to some semblance of friendship after this? Could she bear simple cordiality? The joy she had with them was unmatched, yes she was finding joy and safety with Bas. She loved their father, but the wellspring of love was not finite. It was no pie to be divided. She loved them too, she didn't know what kind of love it was, only that without them her heart would break. The price of losing their friendship, her first true friend was too much to bear. She didn't know it would cost this much.

"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

Spider…can feel themselves waver, and they hate themselves for it. it’s only, she looks so miserable, and it tugs on something buried in their chest, urges them to soothe and reassure and comfort. it’s okay, it’s all going to be okay. it won’t. they know that. and yet, Spider can’t quite bring themselves to turn their back on Ignita and walk out. have they always been this weak, or is it simply her? “don’t cry.” is it a demand, or a plea? they’re not sure. Spider scowls, resisting to urge to kick one of the cave walls. is this how she wrapped Bas around her finger? tears and big golden eyes? well, they won’t fall for it. they won’t.

but then their legs are moving of their own accord, and they’re crossing the distance to stand before Ignita’s crumpled form. Spider heaves a sigh, something shaky and long-suffering. they feel like they’ve aged a decade in the past month. “i wish you were easier to hate, Ignita.” they lift a paw and swipe at her tears, wiping them away. “i don’t know how to be around you, okay?” how to go about their life watching another woman take Bas’ place at his side, where Hazel should be. how to watch them raise a family together and be totally fine with it, no worries. it’ll be like swallowing poison every day - they’ll desensitise, maybe, but it’ll never quite sit right. still, they were prepared to try, before Ignita insisted on making everything harder. they weren’t expecting her to fight for them so hard, to be so devastated by the loss of them. a clean break, that’s what they’d intended. Spider clenches their eyes shut, a headache building. fucking damn it.

"Speech"

She huffs out harshly at the plea for her not to cry. She would if she could, if she could swallow her woes as easily as they made it seem, she wished so desperately that she could. Did she know she was weaponizing her weakness? Not at all, all she knew was that her heart was aching at the idea of them pretending she didn't even exist.

She shakes her head weakly, a sigh echoes through her as well. She doesn't know how to make it any easier for them. She tilts her head toward their paw as they wipe a tear away. She couldn't even lift her head.

Their retreat from the door eased the ache in her chest somewhat. Just feeling them closer let her sniff and find an ounce of strength.

"It would have been better if she had shredded me to pieces...It would be her right." She whispers somberly into the quiet den, her body trembling and shuddering with her hiccups of grief. Then they would all be maybe mourning her, or dismissing her over the audacity and their lives would have gone on.

"I could never take her place. I can never be who she was, I can't even try." Her head still weighed a million pounds, regardless she tried to lift it, but all she could muster was squeezing her eyes shut and pressing her forehead into the floor.
"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

it would have been better if she had shredded me to pieces...it would be her right. “Ignita…no.” they’re suddenly exhausted, the fight drained out of them. “no one should ever hit you, no matter how angry you make them.” Spider slumps into a seated position beside Ignita, stroking her back with their tail in large, sweeping circles. they can’t do it, they can’t keep spitting vitriol at this woman, no matter their anger. whether she knows it or not, she’s twisted their arm. “Bas tried that too, you know. told me to take ‘my pound of flesh,’ as it were.” their heart aches for these people, who’ve come to expect violence as retribution. Spider may be furious, but carving that anger into Ignita’s flesh won’t make anything better. they know that much. “if it’s a fight…that different,” they murmur, staring at their feet. “but to just strike you down?” their throat closes up, and they swallow. “no. no one should do that.” what a mess. Spider wants to sleep for a week. “and you…you shouldn’t try to be Hazel, either. you’re not Hazel.”

their chest tightens as they recall that day all those months ago, when Hazel had found them and given them a home. a name. a Dad and a knife and a place to hall home. their room in the treehouse houses another, now. their little family is in pieces, and Spider doesn’t where to put their feet, how to avoid the shards. “you’re…Ignita. and that’s why people care about you. because you’re kind.” Spider withdraws their tail, letting it settle at their feet. they feel small. young. “you’re smart and you’re creative and you care so, so much. and those things are just as valuable as the things that made Hazel special.” they miss Hazel like they’d miss a limb, like they’re incomplete without her. but they know, through the haze of their fury, that they’d miss Ignita, too. Spider sighs. “you really love my Dad, then?”

"Speech"

Where did this kid get this wisdom? She was able to tilt her head and look up at them. With some more steadying breaths, she was able to lift her head back up. Her tears still fell, her face felt hot and puffy, her eyes red and swollen. She couldn't look at them, she was embarrassed by her outburst.

She shook her head in pitiful wonder, Hazel had taken it out on Baz, Ignita thought that was just how it was done here. Spider was proving it otherwise. She feels their tail and is comforted by it. Does this mean they'll forgive her? Or did she wail so hard they pitied her?

She looks to Spider then, as they tell her that no one should just strike her down, the firelight shines on the stretched skin of the scar over her nose. As far as she knew she deserved this scar, even though it was Basilisk's own claw, back when he had claimed her for his side in the Armada.

She couldn't be Hazel. She listens to them, her heart still aching over the agony of hurting them. She wished she was the one giving them the comforting talks... He withdraws his tail. He looks so small and young, just a kid on the precipice of adulthood. She had been there just a season ago. They weren't so far in age.

"Thank you... Spider." Her soft voice cracks, and she sniffs. She could barely speak. She nods at their question, "I do." She says simply.

"You don't... you don't have to love me... like you do Hazel. You don't have to stop loving her either. If... You just need space and a break for a while, I... I can understand that." She drew in a slow breath, sniffed again, and wiped a tear. She couldn't face them when she tried speaking, it was so hard to speak and look in their eyes. "Neither of us expected you to accept any of this right away. And... and we wanted to wait and honor Hazel. And we wanted to tell you before we told... the pack. Because you deserve that." She said, then brought her gaze back to them, unable to move, unsure if she tried draping her own tail over their back that they'd shy away from her, she didn't know if she'd be able to take it if they did that. "I don't have to be any kind of parent in your life if you don't want me to be. We can be... cordial... But I'd hope to one day be friends again. You can take all the time you need though. We will be announcing it at some point, but that doesn't need to rush you into... anything." If she could salvage anything here, anything at all, it would just be simply... Don't hate me.

"Speech"

Spider wants to scoff, but manages to keep it in. love Ignita like they love Hazel? impossible. “you won’t ever be my parent,” they warn her, voice firm. “there’s no replacing Hazel, for one thing, and for another - you’re not much older than me.” but Ignita’s position as Bas’ mate technically makes her their stepmum, doesn’t it? urgh. for some reason, the very idea makes their skin crawl. is it because of Ignita’s age? “as you said, i’ll definitely need…time. space. maybe a lobotomy.” they huff a laugh, the sound shaky and slightly unhinged. gods, Bas has a new mate. Hazel is gone. Spider is…going insane, probably.

“but i can at least promise that when you two do have kids, i won’t, like, use them as target practice or whatever.” ew ew ew, Ignita’s going to have children with their dad. Spider needs a drink. “i’m gonna go now,” they announce, rather awkwardly. they’re halfway out the door when they glance back over their shoulder. “i’m still mad, by the way. very mad.” they effect a frown, trying to look suitably stern. “you’re nowhere near off the hook yet. i expect lots of grovelling.”

- exit Spider

"Speech"

She nods solemnly as they proclaim she'll never have to be their parent, and how she wasn't much older than them, she had the same thoughts. She understood and nodded some more about how they needed time and space. It would be essential, it was part of adjusting. She huffed her own half-hearted laugh at the idea of Spider having a lobotomy.

She sighed with relief, knowing that Spider would keep the promise of treating their potential half-siblings decently. She whispers a thank you, her voice hoarse. She watches them get up and leave on... mildly better terms this time. She perks her ears up and watches them from the door, yes they are still mad, as was obvious, and evident.

They leave after stating they expected lots of groveling. Well, at least they both knew she was already good at that. She closed her eyes as the door closed behind them. She felt numb like a part of her heart walked out the door. Could it be they had been so angry because... They had their own feelings for her?

What a mess.

She wanted to bury her head in the furs for a week.

"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.