King of the Hive

But he made the effort to speak again, and there was genuine interest in her gaze when she looked up. Sung-Sun normally took it upon herself not to impose, but the sweet scent drifting through the air from the jar was sorely tempting — tempting enough that she stepped closer for the first time. 

He silently congratulated himself on being social, though that small bit of pride didn't quite make it on his face. Only in his eyes, which once again lit at her approval. Both in genuine pleasantry and a need to know that as long as she was approving, he was safe. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized Sung-sun probably wouldn't try anything fishy.

But you never knew.

"Nah," he said carelessly, pushing the jar even closer to her, " It's fine. They're almost gone anyhow."

A glance inside the makeshift jar did indeed reveal that Zibakh was a bit more ravenous with the foodstuff than he'd let on. There were only about four or five of the sweets left, but should she request it, he'd make her more. Wasn't about to get on her bad side.

"I didn’t know your hive was nearby." Perhaps that was the reason he seemed on edge. It was easy to forget most Arrancar still remained quite solitary, even when they called Las Noches home. The fifty-sixth turned away slightly, holding her sleeve above her lips. 

Silence. He'd never been too great at conversation, and having already mentioned the snake and confirmed she wasn't here to kill or torture him, there was but one more thing to mention.

Sitting down the half-empty jar of cookies he'd been chowing down on, he looked at her, then the cookies then back at the snake.

"...Uh," an awkward scratch of the head, yellow eyes darting to the side equally as awkward.

No need to make this complicated.

Being Queen is filled with a lot of tough decisions

His question, though, caused her lashes to flutter open, blinking once or twice in confusion. Zanpakuto? It was such a ridiculous question it was almost humorous, until she recalled that his was in the form of a hornet. Readjusting the serpent on her shoulders, Sung-Sun shook her head lightly. 

Good.

The bee's attention fell away from the snakes and back to his snack. Perhaps the smaller arrancar had only comes over to chat, but he had a feeling the jar he possessed and the smells emanating from it played a part in her coming over as well.

"So what brings you over near the hive? The Queen want me for somethin'?"

   ＴＨＥ ＬＩＯＮＥＳＳ

Even now, she wasn’t sure exactly what it was she searched for. Not many people would be lingering on the edge of the desert; but staying in motion was enough to keep her occupied for the time being, and it had the added bonus of allowing Kaa to receive some fresh air as well. A faint smile tugged at her lips when she saw the masked head poke into her peripheral vision. Turning her head, Sung-Sun reached up to gently scratch the serpent beneath her chin.

Letting her feet carry her where they may, she was surprised to see another person when she finally looked forward again. Right away she knew it was Zibakh — the bee had a distinctive silhouette. Stopping short, the fifty-sixth deliberated on whether or not to disturb him. He was never bad company, but the last time she saw him hadn’t gone entirely well. Part of her worried her presence might make him feel awkward. Bringing her sleeve to her lips, she made to turn away before the jar in his arms caught her attention. A delectable scent wafted nearer the longer she stood: sweet, but undoubtedly foreign. In the end her curiosity won out as she resumed walking forward to where he sat.

Ultimately, the bee decided not, though prickles of unease bloomed on his skin as she drew closer. And from behind him no less. He was half-waiting for an attack, but her greeting made it clear her intentions weren't violent.

All the tensed muscles in his body relaxed at once, and Zibakh turned to see her better. Gaze dropping down to jar as well, he looked back at her, nodding,

"Yeah. Those humans make some weird things. But it ain't all bad."

Like the cookies he was munching on now. Zibakh's eyes zeroed in on the creature coiled around Sung-sun's shoulders, then looked about the woman herself. No obvious signs of a Zanpakuto. Perhaps the snake was a concealed form of it, as his own was concealed in the form of a hornet?

She hadn't had it before. Maybe her intentions weren't so peaceful after all. Pointing one finger at the creature, he asked,

One of his rare trips to the human world had exposed him to the things — their touch, their feel, their taste. The variety and shapes and if Zibakh said he hadn’t enjoyed them he’d be lying. Sweetness usually registered only faintly on his tongue, however the chocolate chipped cookies he had enjoyed to the fullest degree.

After all, Zibakh wasn’t familiar with the strong sweetness of chocolate. Just honey. Only honey.

Cookies.

He wanted some more, opting to make them instead of swiping them, but the arrancar had little to work with beyond his own ingredients. Batter and chocolate didn’t just grow in Hueco Mundo.  Not that that stopped him — before long his underground abode would be rifer than usual with the smell of sweetness and he would step out into the light of night with a few dozen of the things, roughly made, in an equally rough wax jar.

"I won’t," she replied, quietly averting her gaze from his back as he went about catching his breath. No one wanted to appear vulnerable. They couldn’t afford to, not when showing the slightest weakness was an invitation to predators of every kind. She understood his aversion. Perhaps it was time the fraccion took her leave. But before she did…

He stood as erect as the ten foot walls he'd built, hands in his pockets. Casual.

" I'm fine." Not even a tremor.

The hornet had enough of these to recover pretty fast from them, though it was a minute before he could face her again. Even then, it wasn't fully -- just one amber eye blinking at her.

She stepped forward slowly, not wanting to startle him with too fast a movement. Under normal circumstances she trusted the hornet would never lash out of her. This wasn’t a normal circumstance, however. He obviously wasn’t himself. Unpredictability in an arrancar was dangerous, but there wasn’t any other way. He had to be grounded; he had to be reminded that whatever he was seeing was only a vision. Tentatively, she placed one hand on his arm, her fingers squeezing with just enough pressure to hopefully catch his attention.

The one that'd been slowly devours again and again.

It'd long since regrown, but still, it had seen hell. Zibakh remained against the wall, breaths uneven and shivering until he felt a touch realer and warmer than all the phantom sensations. He turned slowly, half expecting it to be her, but instead of hell red pools of death his yellow eyes met ones of lavender.

He sighed, and turned away, breathing the serpents name and burying his free hand in his hair. She'd been there the whole time. Seen everything, and it didn't sit right with Zibakh.

On the other hand though, it was pleasant to note his confidence in the Queen. Some tolerated her, but less showed open support. Especially the males, many of who had been underestimating her since her since she was an Espada. 

"You’re right," she sighed, closing her eyes for a brief moment before she looked back over to him again. Immediately she sensed that something was wrong. His focus had drifted into the distance, beyond the conversation they were having now. The quickening of his breath didn’t go unnoticed, either, and when he showed no sign of returning, Sung-Sun spoke again, a mild concern coloring her voice.

But little did she know he wasn't even there. Not mentally anyway. He was there. In the middle of his worst nightmare. The high pitched shrieks of the female who held him captive. The deep bass roars of the male who sought to do the same.

And then there was him. Right under the two opponents as they threw their weight at each other, just barely managing avoid getting trampled.

It had been a while before he'd had a flashback this vivid, but the effect was all the same. Zibakh, once coated in black chitin in his release form, quickly reverted to his simpler, smaller form. He suddenly fell against the sturdy wall he'd built, shoulder to it's surface and barely on his feet, ashen skin sheening with a light coat of sweat.