Chapter 11

Max found himself again in the featureless stone room. Remembering what the stranger had promised him last time, he looked up at the ceiling just in time to see the first wasp nest fall through the trap door. Then another. And another, his eyes growing wider as more and more nests dropped to the ground, and the air filled with an angry buzzing amid a cloud of expanding malice.

He backed up until he found himself pressed into a corner, staring at the wasps with horror. There would be no dodging them this time; there were simply too many. With nowhere to run, he cowered in the corner, folding himself up to shield his face and make himself as small as possible, his long tail wrapping around his folded-up legs.

He tried his hardest to ignore the buzzing noises, to put himself anywhere except where he was right then and there. He imagined he was back home, sitting at their worn table, reading one of the three books papa had brought when he'd married mama. He could almost recite the books by heart, he'd read them so much, so he imagined he was in the middle of chapter 12, where Captain Gray was preparing to attack the kraken-

Any thought of home was gone when he felt the light tickle of wasp legs on his foot. It was all he could do not to kick it off, and it lingered, moving just often enough to remind him that it was still there. he felt another land on the back of his hand, and he couldn't help but flick his pinned ears when one landed on them. He breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't feel the stab of a stinger in his sensitive ear.

The relief lasted for only a moment, because two more wasps took its place. He was thankful for the slight protection of his long-sleeved shirt and pants, until he felt wasps begin to crawl into his clothes, through the pant legs, shirt cuffs, and collar. He told himself that it was okay, that if he moved now he wouldn't suffer numerous stings across his whole body from the wasps now trapped within his clothes. Yet, he was still locked in place, too afraid to move, even as he had to clench his lips because a wasp walked along them, traveling down his neck.

Time stretched longer and longer, Max losing track of all the wasps now crawling over his bare skin, their twitching legs too numerous to count now. He felt himself sink into himself, the sensation of disconnecting from the experience incredibly strange. He became a ghost in his own skin, only observing what was happening around him, to him, with the detached air of a stranger. In the back of his mind, he heard his uncontrolled whimpering over the buzzing, and he knew he was terrified beyond belief, even if the sensations of the little spindly legs crawling all over his body felt lighter, but still very much present. He wanted nothing more in that moment to feel nothing, to faint from the fright, but it was no good to hope, and he found himself counting the eternities that passed with each second.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a pressure on his shoulder, heavier than mere wasp legs, his movement causing the pressure to immediately cease.

"Max? Are you awake?" He heard Alva say.

Max let out a shuddering breath. "Are they gone?" He said softly.

"Is what gone?"

"The wasps."

Max felt a hand on his shoulder again, this time he only flinched, but the pressure remained. "There's no wasps on you, or anywhere around us."

He could've swore he still felt their little legs on his body, but he risked a peek. As he expected, he was curled up on the floor of the training room, Alva kneeling in front of him. With a force of will, he uncurled himself and sat up slowly, fighting back the urge to burst into tears.

Alva scooted next to Max, wrapping a feathered arm around Max's shoulders. Max made no move to dissuade them, too exhausted from the ordeal to fight it. "Hey, it's okay. It's over now."

"They were everywhere." Max found himself saying. "On my face, in my clothes..." At least sensation of little legs on him seemed to be fading, aided by the firm touch of Alva's arm.

Alva sat with Max for a good minute, before Max got up to leave. Alva took their cue, and began going through the motions of their strange stretching routine. Wanting to take his mind off of the feeling of wasps still in his shirt, Max asked, "What is that you do?" He said while working his own stiff muscles as best as he knew how.

"It's the Balance." Alva said, not missing a beat. "It an exercise that recenters one's singh. It also happens to be good at relaxing stiff muscles, or stretching them before heavy use so as to not hurt them. My instructor always made me do it before we engaged in mock combat."

"Huh." Max said, unsure what they meant by the first sentence.

"It does work wonders. If you'd like, I'd be happy to teach it to you. It's fairly simple, once you get the hang of it."

"Maybe later?" Max asked as much as said, half hoping 'later' actually meant 'never'.

"Ah." Alva said, sounding vaguely disappointed. "Shall we?" They said, gesturing to the door.

Sitting at dinner, Max could not help but tense at every shift of his clothes, or brief wind on the back of his neck, his mind immediately believing that it was another wasp landing on him. It was driving him nuts, and made holding a conversation with Alva difficult.

Max realized it must've been more obvious than he thought when Alva asked, "Why are you so twitchy tonight?"

"I swear I keep feeling wasps on me."

"It's bothered you that much? I never thought bugs were so scary as some made them out to be."

"I'm fine with bugs, just not wasps. I...had a bad experience with them as a kid. Ever since I've been terrified of them."

"I suppose wasps are something else. Truthfully, I never understood those who were afraid of just any bug. There's far more terrifying things than a little creature that one can easily kill, in my opinion."

"Like drowning?" Max asked, remembering their first nightmare.

Alva was silent for a moment, and Max noticed just how exhausted they looked. "Yes. Being afraid of drowning is a far more justified fear than being afraid of a little insect."

Max nodded. The conversation lapsed between them, Max's shoulders twitching again as a rogue breeze moved his shirt.

Once they were back in their house, Max went straight for his room, wanting nothing more than to be alone for a little while. "I'm off to bed. 'Night."

"Hold on, Max." They said, which brought Max to a halt. "I really think you'd feel much better if you let me teach you the Balance. It may seem wild to someone unfamiliar with the technique, but I think it would help you calm down."

Max hesitated. "I don't know. Maybe tomorrow night."

They were visibly disappointed now, frowning slightly at Max. "Very well. Sleep well, Max."

"Goodnight." Max said, hurrying into his room to get away from the disappointment. He hoped that he would have sweet dreams tonight. He climbed into bed, wrapping the blanket tightly around his body in a vain attempt to ward off the phantom wasps crawling on his skin. Though he was exhausted, about the time he started to drift off, he felt a fresh itch like a bug had landed on him. The hours ticked by slowly, but thankfully when he did drift off to sleep it was a black and dreamless sleep.

The nightmares didn't get any better as time went on, Max being subjected to the same swarm of wasps every session. By the end of the week, he had gotten little sleep because of the phantom feeling of wasps after each session, which didn't abate even by the end of the third repeat of the wasp nightmare. Back at their house, he wanted to just go and try to sleep again, but Alva stopped him, this time looking deeply concerned.

"Max, this is getting out of hand. I can tell you're not sleeping well with these nightmares pushing you so far out of balance. Let me spend an hour, just one hour, showing you how to do the Balance. You'll feel so much better, I promise."

Max didn't want to do anything but sleep, but he was too tired to argue with their earnestness. Best case it helped him sleep; worst case maybe he wouldn't feel so sore after a session. So, he sighed and said, "Okay, if you really think it'll help..."

Alva smiled at Max. "I'm certain it will. Here, step over here and do as I do."

They stepped into the open space of the parlor, and Alva slowly walked Max through the motions. It was harder than Alva made it look, and Alva corrected Max's form countless times, sometimes manually moving the offending body part with their hands. This made Max uncomfortable, but he said nothing as they worked with him. By the time an hour had passed, Max was doing it with only minimal corrections from Alva, feeling bodily exhausted as well as mentally exhausted.

They nodded approvingly as Max did the whole routine in front of them, incredibly conscious of his every move. "Good." They said, once he'd finished. "You'll get better with time and practice, but it seems you've got the basics down at least. If you're having trouble sleeping, go through the Balance and see how much easier you can sleep."

Max nodded. "Okay. Now I really am ready for bed. Goodnight." Max said, heading for his room.

"Goodnight." Max turned to leave, but Alva said, "Er, Max?" which brought Max to a halt again, having to suppress a groan of annoyance at being kept from his bed again. "Would you like me to keep you company tonight? I know I sleep much better with someone else close by."

Max's addled brain processed Alva's strange proposal slowly, unsure of what exactly they were proposing. The silence stretched uncomfortably long, and he knew he needed to answer. "Uh, I think I'm okay for tonight. Thanks." He hastily added.

Alva seemed crestfallen at the response, their tailfeathers drooping. "I see. Well, if you change your mind in the night, feel free to join me in my room. I really wouldn't mind in the slightest."

"I'll, uh, keep that in mind, yeah." Max said, wanting to break the tension between them. "'Night."

"Goodnight, Max. Sweet dreams."

"You too." Max said automatically, before entering his room and closing the door behind him.