Love, Hurt, and Repeat

Sometimes young love hurts

The clicking of hooves on the rock underfoot was one of the only things Grimm had heard for the past few hours. They had to pack up and move quickly after the lighting of a lantern called the troupe to a new kingdom. Grimm was tired from moving constantly in their small caravan. Anytime he got accustomed with the bugs or people of one town they were moving to another. However his father, the nightmare king seemed to be acting differently about this lighting of the torch. He almost seemed nervous in a way that he's never been before. That, at least, got Grimm's attention. His father had never been nervous before around even some of the strongest of gods, however wherever the grimmsteeds seemed to be taking them was making him nervous. A sudden knock on the young bats door made him jump out of his thoughts and look up at the carvings engraved in it. A grimmkin shapes head with spiral's. Pretty, but ominous... "We are due to arrive in ten minutes, make yourself presentable." His father's rough voice spoke through the door. Harsh and demanding, but also having that small hint of worry. The sound of claws clicking against the caravans wooden surface faded away as his father left. He didn't need an answer to know Grimm would listen to his order.

    Getting up from the window seat in his personal quarters to see what his closet had to offer. Most of the troupe's clothing was about the same, red and dressy, but there were some for special occasions and with Grimm slowly losing his wings and tail. Not a lot of things at the moment fit the bat comfortably. Luckily his quarters weren't extremely big. Two bookshelves by the window seat filled with a multitude of books. A pole that ran wall to wall in the back to act as the bats bed so he could hang from the ceiling. He also had a beautiful rug that ran across the length of the room as well as a table with flowers. He sadly couldn't touch the delicate things since the flames his body was made of would surely set them ablaze, however they always gave at least a bit of color to the almost pure red and black room. His eyes drifted on them before looking over to the closet at the side of his room. It wasn't deep, nore was it large, but it was enough for traveling until there proper tents could be set up. Grimm grabbed a simple cloak with beautiful pink fluff surrounding the neck of it. It was just fancy enough to count in Grimm's eyes while being comfortable to his constant shaping form.

Throwing the cloak over his head he was in the middle of zipping it up when the caravan stopped. They must be here then... hiding his hands under his cloak he watched his door open and father stepped in. He was almost a splitting image of Grimm but his ears were a bright pink with his cloak. His eyes looked the bat over before nodding. "Come, we must meet the king at noon, he would hate for us to be late" He said before turning and heading off. Grimm just nodded and headed after his father before he saw he wasn't following. One of the grimmkin opened the door for the two as they stepped out into the open and into this new kingdom. Grimm instantly looked around but it's not what he expected, it was a small town with nothing major of notice or interest which already made Grimm hate this place. However his father continued and so did he. Many of the townsfolk were looking there way and whispering to each other, however at this rate Grimm was pretty used to the odd stares. They were the nightmare troupe after all and bats, of course bugs would be scared of them.

There was a building however, a semi-circle in shape, with two guards, there carapaces where pitch black while there armor where blinding light. The Nightmare King respectfully bowed at the two of them and Grimm did the same. It wasn't the first time guards would lead them to the king's castle, however these guards felt off. there was something strange about them of course he didn't mention it. However he let himself stay a distance from the two guards at their sides. They led them to a stag with white armor over its body and plenty of seating for the four of them. Grimm was starting to think the king really liked the color white... However they all climbed up and the stag took off down the dark tunnels. Bored, he watched the scenery go by. He really hoped this was worth all this. He was really starting to like the city of mossberry... Suddenly the world started to turn even brighter as they arrived at their destination. What they were met with after leaving the stag station was a very large and very white caste that towed for miles. Grimm had to just stop and marvel at it for a second. He wouldn't lie, it was pretty epic looking, even if it kinda looked like it was being overtaken by thorny white plants. Gods was everything here white? The knights however at their sides didn't stop, a tap of one of their weapons on Grimms back made him jump and head forward again. Yeah he for sure didn't like these guards, their scythe like weapons looked sharp and ready to tear into the two bats at a moment's notice. Hopefully they didn't turn on the two. If his father noticed anything he didn't seem scared by it, then again it was near impossible to get under his skin. With a sigh grimm caught up and walked at his father's side. It was a walk until they actually got to where they were supposed to go. The castle was huge, grand, and absolutely boring. Everything was completely white, the only things not the bland colors were portraits hanging against the wall, however the people inside of them were always wearing whites and shades of grey. He didn't recognize any of the shapes, but he could tell they were royalty by what they were wearing.

It didn't take long to get to the throne room where the two guards seemed to be leading them. Grimm honestly expected a huge god, one of power and might for how large his castle was. Maybe with beautiful huge wings and bright eyes. However boringly enough he was smaller than his father. Heck he was almost the SAME SIZE as Gimm. The wyrm was on his throne when the two walked in, and he had instantly got up when he spotted the two. The Nightmare King bowed and after a moment's hesitation Grimm did as well. The king, head high headed over to the two and finally spoke when he stopped in front of them. "Rise." The Nightmare and Grimm rose, Grimm finally getting a good look at the bug. There wasn't much to say, He had horns that formed into a crown like shape and robes and went all the way to the ground. Boring and plain. Greaaattt! This was totally worth the trip all the way here for nothing!! He had a feeling after all they weren't here for the ritual. The only thing he paid attention to from there was when his father introduced him to the pale king, which was apparently his name... he lived up to the name as well... From there he let his mind wander. He would love to sneak off and go do something but his father and this new king would probably have his head for such a thing. However something did catch his interest after a bit. Something he didn't expect to find interesting. At first the bug didn't really make him bat an eye. White clothes and white armor and a white mask, however something got grimms attention, there blank eyes, fully numb of anything. It made them curious, nothing living could have such blank eyes... not like that at least. Maybe it wasn't alive like the guards beside them? At least the guards didn't seem alive yet they moved and took orders.
The king's voice startled him, making him look over to the wyrm. "Ah pale vessel, a moment?" The bug stopped, he must have just been passing through. Curiously they headed over and stood at the king's side. Grimm looked into their blank eyes, they were looking at his father but then turned to him after a moment. "This is my pure vessel, numb and void of emotions, and the savor to this kingdom in the near future." The king's words grabbed his attention and proved what he was seeing, so they were void of emotions? It sounded more like they were made of whatever void was... Huh... he wondered if he could break that numb expression... The bat tilted his head, the vessel hesitated, something shining in their eyes before they tilted his head as well. That was... honestly kinda cu- "You can move on, you're gonna be late for training at this rate." they straightened and whatever had entered their eyes faded in a flash. They turned and headed off down the hallway to apparently do their training. Grimm couldn't help but look after them, that... was interesting and strange. He wanted to get to know them more.

After a bit more talking about whatever the pale king and grimm decided to call it for a day. The pale king was a busy king and Grimm's father had to watch over the troupe as they set up their tents. However on the way home he kept an eye out for the bug from before. He didn't see them, but the sound of nails faintly clashing from a distance gave him an idea of what they were doing. Maybe he could see them again at a different date. Or maybe in their dreams if he would be so lucky... He could dream dive after all but he was still young. He wasn't perfect at diving into dreams and he knew it's dangers. Maybe he would get better, he hoped so.

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I hope you all enjoyed! I can't wait to see where this story is going to go! I'll see you next time my little wolf pups ^-^

Red out!