[i]It was very late in their partnership when Tauga asked an important question.

[colour=antiquewhite]“Are you Jaan?”[/colour]

[colour=f6989d]“No,”[/colour] Heartworm replied. It lowered the upper half of her beak along with her brain onto a clasp in the fluid. With a ripple of its tail it was away again. Elsewhere, Tauga's fourth eye  swivelled slightly to follow.

[colour=f6989d]“The Emaciator was created to act as Jvan's envoy to distant places. Heartworm was the name and consciousness assigned to that entity. Kept its powers occupied when Jvan's attention was elsewhere. Glitch in its personality displeased her. Inevitable. Heartworm was subjugated. Eventually I escaped.”[/colour]

[colour=antiquewhite]“Oh,”[/colour] she said. Her larynx fell to stillness, alone on its threads.

The fluid was utterly transparent, yet dim, for lack of light. Heartworm swam in the grey. It was viscous enough to support it motionless, all the while keeping Tauga's many veins alive. In this it was a technical marvel, as in many other, small things.

Heartworm shuffled around her upper-body muscle, zooming in on each myomere. It rearranged the threads.

[colour=antiquewhite]“Heartworm?”[/colour]

[colour=f6989d]“...”[/colour]

[colour=antiquewhite]“Have I ever met Jaan?”[/colour]

[colour=f6989d]“No.”[/colour]

[colour=antiquewhite]“Will I?”[/colour]

[colour=f6989d]“Maybe.”[/colour]

[colour=antiquewhite]“Huh.”[/colour]

Tauga experimentally flexed a foot. The fluid twitched in three different places. Heartworm knew it was coming and paid no heed.

[colour=antiquewhite]“Hey, worm.”[/colour]

[colour=f6989d]“...”[/colour]

[colour=antiquewhite]“...Nothing.”[/colour]

[colour=f6989d]“...”[/colour]

[colour=antiquewhite]“...This will make me strong, huh.”[/colour]

[colour=f6989d]“Correct.”[/colour]

[colour=antiquewhite]“Okay.”[/colour] Heartworm ran along a vein and found a nerve in the Tauga-web, lined it with a crystallogenic matrix. Strange shivers were felt in Tauga's brain.

[colour=antiquewhite]“...I guess you could say you were his slave.”[/colour]

[colour=f6989d]“You could.”[/colour]

[colour=antiquewhite]“A runaway slave, huh.”[/colour] Her first and second eyes swivelled towards Heartworm and for the first time saw how small it truly was. She'd always considered Heartworm a god. This... made much more sense. [colour=antiquewhite]“No wonder you're always so alone.”[/colour]

Heartworm stopped. It met her eyes.

[colour=antiquewhite]“...”[/colour]

[colour=f6989d]“Tauga will be reassembled within three hours,”[/colour] it said, and continued with its work. Tauga closed her eyes and waited.

[/i]