Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

Warning for general gore, buggy molting.

Away from the festivities, she'd found a damp place to settle, taking off her blue feather necklace so it didn't get damaged. She set it down beside her and lay down comfortably, stiff and itchy under her outer shell. She reached up and gripped the mask on her face, clinging onto it tightly.

With a crack, it came off, and her eyes opened, her eyes glazed over and milky, her movements growing stiff. She set the mask down and breathed out, leaning up against the wall, humming softly.

"My heart is pierced by Cupid,
I disdain all glittering gold,
There is nothing can console me,
But my jolly sailor bold."

Arwen curled up as much as she could, singing to herself as she waited for this to be over, wishing that she had someone to protect her when she came out soft and vulnerable. Like her Blue. But alas, she'd left so they didn't have to see such a sight as this.

"Come all you pretty fair maids,
Whoever you may be,
Who love a jolly sailor bold,
That ploughs the raging sea."

@Redwood (And any other Fair Folk who wish to join!!)

Jolly Sailor Bold (Pirate of the Caribbean)

Blue had honestly began to grow worried.

they trusted Arwen as much, to know what she was doing when she asked to be left alone. but it was so.. sudden, and after such a trainwreck of a night they feared their grub was upset, or worse, had somehow managed to get herself sick. it was a such a sudden leave, they couldn't help the curiosity that pricked at their feathers.

as they wandered, carefully traversing through polaris, their ears picked up on a familiar voice. familiar and hypnotizing, like a sirens call. there was their Arwen.

they followed her voice, the floor damp beneath their claws. they followed the loud crack of her mask, their heart skipping a beat in anxiety. oh Arwen, where are you?

as they finally reached her, they froze. ah, just molting, then. they sighed in relief, sitting quietly close by, softly swaying to the song, the only sound telling of their presence was their feathers softly scraping against the rocky walls.

they only dared speak when she had finished singing, their voice wavering unevenly, from the effort of keeping quiet or from breathlessness, it was hard to tell. "Arwen..." they finally chirped.

Arwen froze and hid her face, hunching in on herself. She didn't know what she looked like under it! Was she ugly? Was she disgusting?

Would Blue hate her?

"B-Blue," she said, "I told you to stay away... I don't know if I'm hideous under my mask!"

She held it close and hunched in on herself, half out of self-consciousness, half out of instinct as she tried to wiggle herself out of the shell she was stuck inside. She felt like a pimple about to pop, as disgusting as that metaphor was.

"... Would you tell me the truth if I asked?", she said softly, wiggling uncomfortably, "... If I'm ugly, or hideous, or disgusting... will you still be my friend?"

'Will you still love me?'

@Redwood

Blue noticed the way arwen tried to hide away, and it make their heart ache, not an unfamiliar one with arwen, but an ache all the same.

"forgive me, Arwen.... i grew worried, you know how i am..." they twittered in response.

arwen's words almost surprised them. how could arwen ever think herself hideous? had she not seen how Blue admired her at every step and turn?

they thought, for a moment, before replying to her questions.

"of course, my love. you know i would..." they said, hushed, almost, the pain in their chest almost stealing the words from them.

they moved only the slightest whisper closer. their gaze softened as much as it could be. "i am here. it will take much more to get me to leave."

@Arwen

Arwen went quiet and still, and slowly... she lowered the mask.

Her face was pale, and marked all over with tiny little lines where her face would segment. Her mandibles were closed, forming a jaw, and she looked up, her milky eyes colorless as she molted.

But she was beautiful, in a weird, monstrous way, with delicate features and a smooth head.

"... I don't know what I look like," she said softly, "I only ever had the mask, something flawless to hide what was underneath. So... what was underneath had to be worth hiding, right?"

She looked down, her smooth lashes (or at least a mimicry of such a thing) brushing against her chubby cheeks. She lowered the mask and set it next to her necklace, and held out her arms.

"Hold me?", she asked, wiggling as she grew more and more uncomfortable, "I'm going to split any second now... I don't want to fall apart if it's not going to be in your arms."

@Redwood

Blue allowed the air to escape their lungs as her mask lowered, moving a clawed hand to their mouth, eyes wide.

they examined her monstrous, bug-like features, mandibles, segments and all. if monstrous was supposed to be an insult, they wouldn't know. the only thing they could think was-

"beautiful.." they breathed, moving closer. "nothing but beautiful, dear Arwen... like you always are." they sighed. their eyes were full of so much admiration, a soft smile betraying their eternal poker face as joy welled up in their chest. "who ever said the butterfly was ugly for its chrysalis?"

they wasted no time in moving closer to her, scooping her up delicately in their arms. leaning against the wall. their looked down at her, hair falling over their eyes in a tangled mess.

@Arwen

Arwen flushed, color coming to her cheeks. She looked away and winced as her outer shell cracked, and pressed into Blue's front, her mandibles twitching as she chittered.

"Y-you're so kind," she sniffed, tearing up, "How did I manage to deserve you?"

She closed her eyes, her eyelids sliding shut for the last time, her mandibles stilling. She stopped moving for a minute or so, growing cold.

Her tail split open first, the familiar shape of Arwen's grubby tail appearing, though it was longer and more dense. She backed out, pulling herself from her shell, nearly twice as big as before. No wonder she had to get out, she was practically being crushed!

She flopped out onto the ground, soft and wet, her skin and the thin carapace on her back, and shoulders starting to harden. She shuddered and pushed herself up, her arms longer and thinner, with spindly fingers and defined legs rather than nubs. She turned towards Blue, eyes opening under the eye holes of a new mask, this one completely white with soft pink on the cheeks, the lips seemingly painted a soft pink as well.

"... How do I look?", she asked nervously, her body still growing and moving.

At the moment, though, she was four feet tall, not as tall as Blue, but quickly catching up. Judging by her crumpled appearance, she'd probably grow at least another foot.

Arwen stared at the shell of her previous self, peering at her face and body before pushing it over and quickly taking its place in Blue's arms.

"You were right," she said softly, "I am pretty."

@Redwood

Blue hummed as she went quiet, speaking long after she had gone cold with the saddest sigh.

"sometimes i wonder the same..."


minutes later, as her form began cracking and splitting, they'd be lying if they said they weren't startled, but kept their cool as they watched in fascination and respect. truly an interesting process, one they envied almost.

as she turned to them, they took in everything new about her appearance. it was... beautiful, really. they couldn't seem to find the words once again, so they settled on a warm smile. "magnificent.." they chirped lovingly with a smile. "though.. i wonder how i'll be able to carry you now" they chuckled.

they let out a happy little purr as Arwen found comfort in their arms again, holding on tight. "told you so" they twittered playfully. "when have i ever been wrong about that?"


@Arwen

Arwen pouted a bit, "No..."

She snuggled into Blue's front, mourning the loss of the comfort that being carried around brought. She sighed and smiled into the other's feathers, a bit sad her face was hidden again. She liked having Blue being able to see.

"Love you, Blue," she said softly, "So far you've never been wrong about me."

She chittered back and wrapped her arms around Blue, extremely pleased that she was able to do such a thing now. She hugged them closely and pressed her face into their neck, nuzzling them gently.

"I can see better," she said, pointing at the wider eyes of her mask, the other mask's eyes having nearly been closed, "You're so pretty, Blue~."

@Redwood

Blue rumbled in amusement, affectionately nuzzling into her cheek like a cat.

"i love you too, Arwen.." they purred. they smiled softly as arwen wrapped her arms around them, their wings shuffling from behind them to do the same, cradling them both in a warm, feathered embrace.

their cheeks flushed pink at her comment, huffing, flustered. "thank you.." they chirped, smiling like a dork. oh Blue, you were absolutely smitten, weren't you?

"perhaps i could still carry you... im still taller" they chuckled.

@Arwen