The fluffy mantid struggled against their captors, begging to be released. It wasn’t the mantid’s fault that they’d accidentally killed a Shade; it had attacked them first! Plus, what was it even doing in the Fungal Wastes? The tiny Knight that the Sisters spoke so highly of had long since ascended into a full void god, and hadn’t really left the Abyss in ages. Nor had any of its siblings. Not like the Sisters cared; they were incredibly strict about their laws, mainly the no-killing-Shades one. It doesn’t matter if it was in self-defense, they wanted to honor the tiny Knight. Eventually, the mantid stopped struggling and cast a pleading glance at the other fluffy mantid accompanying the group; they just looked away sadly, offering no support for the captive. The lawbreaker just sighed quietly and stared at the ground, matching their stride with the guards’ until they were thrown onto the floor in front of three tall thrones. The mantid grunted with the force of being shoved, then stared up at the mantises at the tops of the thrones. The Sisters of Battle. “Please, I meant no harm-” The central Sister cut them off. “Silence, child. There may not have been any witnesses aside from yourself, but we saw the void on your weapon when you returned from your travels. I understand if you were merely defending yourself, but the law is clear enough. You must be punished for this.” “Fine! Throw me in jail if you will, but you need to understand that-” “That you broke the rules.” “I-” They glanced at the free mantid, desperate for assistance, but their sibling merely turned away again, holding back tears. The criminal looks back at the Sisters, helpless. “I’m sorry..” “Apologies will not help you here, Astrid.” The Sisters hop down from their thrones in sync, and the other two begin walking away as the central Sister bows quickly to the criminal. “You may say your goodbyes now, but you must be prepared to leave your sister once we return.” With that, she left, following her sisters to a closed-off room. A guard cautiously unlocked the chains around Astrid’s wrists, and she immediately stood up and ran over to her sibling, hugging them tightly. “I’m so sorry Demure I didn’t try to do this I don’t-” Astrid cut themself off with a sob. Demure hesitantly hugged the younger mantid back, holding in her own tears. “It isn’t your fault, hon. They’re being too strict about it is all… And I may be older, but I don’t know what they’re going to do to you.. So all I can ask is that you stay strong throughout it. For me. Okay?” Astrid’s wings flicked. “But how am I supposed to do that!? W-what do you even mean!?” “...I have a plan to keep you safe.” Demure glanced around to make sure no guards were listening, then bent so her head was level with Astrid’s. “We’re basically identical, right? I could take your place, and you’d avoid getting hurt, at least temporarily.” That seemed to shock the younger mantid like electricity. “Demure, what are you thinking!?” they whispered in response to the plan. “That would hurt worse than whatever punishment they could ever give me! I can’t have you take my place. I just- I-I can’t.” Demure sighed almost silently. “I’m older. I’ve seen more. I’d rather let you have a few more adventures instead of possibly watching you die.” Astrid, knowing she couldn’t argue with Demure, dropped her gaze to the ground. “Alright…” Like Astrid, Demure was stubborn, and it didn’t take long for one to understand when they should stop arguing back. “..See you on the other side, sister.” Demure smiles weakly. “See you on the other side.” Soon enough, the Sisters returned and jumped back up onto their thrones. One of the lower Sisters held an unusually long nail, which emanated small, luminescent particles; they resembled that of a Dream-nail, but countless shades darker. The three stood on their seats as the central Sister spoke up. “Astrid, it is time.”
Demure stepped forward and stood directly in front of the center throne, staring up at its inhabiting Sister as she grabbed the strange nail from her sibling. An uneasy silence settled over the entire room, broken suddenly by the nail-wielding Sister letting out a small battle cry as she dove down from her throne, the nail pointed straight at Demure. The false criminal is promptly shoved out of the way moments before experiencing contact with the deadly end of the nail. She has virtually no time to process what just happened before the nail is driven straight through Astrid’s head; the smaller mantid twitches, then goes still as emptiness and lifelessness fills her gaze. Stunned and dismayed, Demure didn’t move, staring at what was once her younger sister. She looked up only when the gazes of everybody else were clearly aimed at her. The Sister whom had just disposed of Astrid was gripping the nail rather tightly, as if poised to attack. “Demure. I was not expecting this of you. All in our colony, especially a clever creature like you, should know that so much as attempting to help a criminal escape their fate is a punishable offense.” Demure’s tail curled against her side as she locked eyes with the Sister. “Yes, ma’am. My sincerest apologi-” She’s silenced by the feeling of the nail being driven through her body. Glimmering fluid dripped out of Demure’s jaws as she twitched and went limp. “We are sorry, Demure, but it had to be done.” --- Hollow Knight/The Mantis Lords - Team Cherry Writing, Astrid, Demure: @MicroSoftie DO NOT REPOST WITHOUT MY PERMISSION. SFW fanart is accepted Please give me feedback! It helps a lot ^^ #microsoftie #anon #anonymousfurbrain #anontheidiot #astrid #mantis #mantid #mantislords #demure #hk #hollowknight #void #hollowknightfanfic #hollowknightfanfiction #hollowknightfanstory #hkfanfic #hkfanfiction #hkfanstory #ocs #originalcharacters #fungalwastes #teamcherry #mantistribe #voidnail #dreamnail #originalstory #rewrite2
