THE SWARM: STAY
PRELUDE.
Five days have passed since you, The First, woke on the strange and barren planet of Kharas. Four days since the pods housing you exploded when tampered with, and Three since the strange Trilobite-like sand crabs began hesitantly crawling their way into and around the boneyard. At first there was only a few brave specimens to be found, keeping mostly to the shadows and scuttling this way and that. Now, however, at least a hundred of them can be found in and around the boneyard in various placed, commonly grouped together in batches of two or three, sometimes even four.
Notably they do not interact much with one another despite their groups and are much more interested in scouting out their surroundings for fibrous materials. On the odd chance that they manage to obtain any scraps they will begin to wander back towards the tracks your
counterparts began following earlier. Odd, isn't it?
As the softer morning sun overhead slowly begins to heat up with the encroaching afternoon more of the Trilobites begin to fill the area. Only unlike their predecessors these ones do not wander around aimlessly, and instead beeline their way to any Coral stalks that remain in the area. They bury into the sand beneath them to avoid their harsh shells and attack the roots until they topple and collapse under their own weight. Once this happens they practically swarm, working to segment it into pieces with their mandibles. When the Coral's shell cracks the Trilobites pry all vegetable matter from within and begin dragging it into the desert.
And that's not all: these new Trilobites seem
much braver and more interested in you than their predecessors. They will openly wander up to characters and gnaw uselessly at their ankles or feet, chittering and chattering. If enough of them happen to get together around an individual they will form a tiny ankle-gnawing mob intent on clambering all over you.
As the daily eclipse nears their numbers will begin to grow even further. Odd tremors can be felt beneath the ground, even in spite of all the sand, but characters won't get much of a chance to look into the matter before their wrist communicators begin to emit that same strange static from the mist.
...Only there's none to be seen in
any direction whatsoever.
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[Her one good leg is incredibly tired now, so she's just going to slump up against him while her numb leg gives out entirely. She's going to act like this is a show of affection and is no way an attempt to hide the fact that she's having some trouble.]
You saved us. You had a choice to make, and it's not your fault that both choices were awful ones. Sometimes, there just aren't any good choices. I don't blame you for what's happened.
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They're always terrible choices. Difficult ones. And I don't want to regret helping people. That's not an option for me.
. . . I want to be more than this.
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[Her voice is tired now, and her eyes slip closed as she rests up against him.]
You're amazing, no matter how many difficult choices you're forced to make.
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Clark tilts his head back. ]
I don't think I'm quite there yet.
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[There's a hint of a laugh, and she lifts her head to look up at him.]
Starting now. You're only allowed to be hard on yourself when I give you permission to do so. Understood?
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I'll do my best.
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[Grinning, she decides to turn being flopped up against him into a hug. He could use a hug right about now.]
Question, though. Do you think we can rest now? Just for a bit.
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There's nothing nearby. I think they've gone. Or at least . . . they'll stay away.
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It's okay to be scared.
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I know. Thing is, I'm more sad than scared.
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[ Lois had been like that, after Nairomi. ]
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[It helps her to keep moving, to not stay still for long.]
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Being sad helps us feel human when we need it the most.
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Is that why you're sad right now, then?
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I like to think so.
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[There's a nudge along with as coy of a smile as she can possibly manage at this point in time. And with that, the urge to keep talking fades out of her, and she's left sitting beside him in silence. ]
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I had a lot of help.