Into the Out

It had been years since Worldling had last seen Crux. They had been raised together, alongside Abettance, but while Worldling ventured out of Burrowgatory and into the larger scape of Hell to adventure, Crux retreated and fell sadly victim to his agoraphobia.

The door to his sanctum was in Abettance’s tavern basement, surrounded by spare dishware and alcohol. It was a small, metallic hatch in the floor, which lead to a dark and poorly-maintained staircase that would be easy to slip down in hooves or shoes. Fortunately, Worldling preferred to stand barefoot, anyways– though Abettance leaned heavily against the wall as her hooves clicked down the stairs. The staircase descended like a long screw into the ground, leading the pair to a second metallic door. This one had no knob or latch or window.

Whether it had been Abettance’s complaining about disturbing her patrons or whether it had been Crux’s own sense of paranoia didn’t matter– he’d long ago soundproofed his workshop. Yelling at the door wouldn’t work– knocking wasn’t guaranteed to work, either. Fortunately, this was not the first time Abettance had visited her littermate; she had come armed with a rather large rock, which she smashed loudly into the metal. Worldling flinched at the sound, but her littermate was too focused on gaining Crux’s attention to notice.

Finally, after a short time, the door let out a small beep, and a red light flashed from the centre. Steam hissed from a previously-unseen panel in the door, before flipping around to reveal a small camera and screen. The pair could see themselves on the screen; Worldling thought the angle unflattering.

A loud squeal sounded, causing both buns to raise their hands to cover their sensitive ears.

“My, oh my, oh my, oh my.” Crux’s voice sounded from an invisible speaker. “Has my mind finally given out, or is that indeed Worldling I spy by your side, Abettance?”

“It’s us,” Abettance confirmed, lowering her arms.

A squeal of delight rang out into the stairwell. The visitors once again raised their hands to protect themselves from the shrill sound.

“Oh, I do wish I could believe you on word alone– the mere notion does excite me so– what proof have you brought?”

“I have the sword you made me,” Worldling answered, somewhat nervously. Abettance had prepared her to be questioned; and had furthermore prepared her for the very real possibility that he would not believe them.

“Truly?” Crux asked. “I suppose I’d have to allow your entry in order to inspect the work.” He giggled. “Oh, whatever shall we do? Hm…” The pair could hear him pretending to think. “You know, it’s incautious of me, but I am just so very excited by the thought of our reunion that I may forgo all examinations altogether. I’d much rather reminisce. I’m sure you’ve been busy– as have I. Doesn’t that sound nice?”

“No, we’ll do your tests,” Abettance answered. She knew he would provide this offer every so often– only to rip the rug out from under her and not let her visit at the last minute. Last time, he was particularly cruel; she hadn’t visited since.

“I was not addressing you, my dear,” Crux said. “Worldling– assuming that is you, Worldling– what say you?”

“I’d, uh, like the examinations…?”

“You seem uncertain.”

“No, no, I… want you to feel sure that it’s me.”

There was a short pause. “Excellent.” A small click sounded in the hall, followed by the door swinging silently open. “Congratulations to the two of you– you have passed.”

“What the hell, Crux?!” Abettance yelled.

Crux approached the doorway, still standing away somewhat cautiously. “Is there a problem?”

“Yes!” she exclaimed. “You make me go through forty minutes of bullshit trivia before opening the door for me!”

Crux laughed. “What can I say? I already told you how very excited I am to see Worldling again. It isn’t as though anyone can do anything to me in here, anyhow– nothing I can’t fi-!”

Crux was cut off by Worldling grabbing him and pulling him close. She had missed him so much– she hadn’t realised the extent of his phobia during her shorter visits, so she really hadn’t seen him in a long, long time.

He stiffened, though. Abettance had never been affectionate, so it had probably been since the last time they had seen each other when he last was touched. His immediate instinct was to panic, followed very shortly by the urge to lean in. His warring wills lead him to stand perfectly still– allowing Worldling to hug him while neither reciprocating nor pushing her away. 

Finally, Worldling pulled away, but kept an arm on his shoulder.

“Come up for a drink,” she urged.

“I don’t want to do that,” Crux replied, still feeling stiff and awkward.

“Please?” she insisted. “Everything will be okay, you know. It’ll be just the three of us.”

Crux fidgeted. The thought of leaving his workshop was terrifying. Too much could go wrong– both upstairs and down there. He could turn his back for just a moment and some system could overload; a cooler could explode; a code could malfunction. Or, he could go upstairs and get sick; or indulge too much; or ruin his relationships with his littermates.

Maybe it was the surprise of seeing Worldling again– or the way she held him. Either way, he reluctantly found himself more grounded than he had been in a long time. Those worries… they seemed made up, compared to the way Worldling moved her hand down his arm to take his; the reflection of his artificial lights in her eyes. What Worldling was offering was real, and true, and honest.

“...All right, I’ll go.”

You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me!!!! Abettance screamed internally. How long had she spent begging this fucker to come out of his cave? Spend some time with her? But Worldling with her magic little words and her magic little touch could make Crux– and anyone, in all likelihood– bend to her will. Come the fuck on.