The Weak, the Strong, and the Worthy: A HorrorDust story

Horror's POV

"I don't get it, Horror. How are you Boss's favorite?"Killer asks

I can hear him whine and the tinge of jealousy in his voice. I pause from chopping carrots and glance at him.

"Who says I'm his favorite?"

"I do and it's the most obvious thing in the world! I try so hard to get near him but he shoves me away but he lets you in with a smile on his face! His tentacles are round for you and sharp for me! What are we doing different for these results?"

"Hmm...Hobbies..."

"I have hobbies and he knows it!"

"He says my hobbies contribute to the castle. He has shown me gardening and that enhanced my cooking. I learned how to carve wood and that provides tables and stuff...He gets to put the castle to better use....But your hobbies tend to break stuff and doesn't contribute more to the castle. Your hobby is chaos....You know your messes annoy him."I say, chopping the carrot again.

"Ugggh, and what are you doing now?"

"Making recipe for you...You have to eat..."

"I can eat later."

"Later is dinner or never with you. You know how I am about meals. You skipped lunch or tried to at least. No exceptions. You will eat."

"Does it have to be carrots?"

"It has to be healthy..."

"Fine..."

I continue preparing the ingredients as it falls quiet. I smile slightly with my back to Killer, knowing that to some extent that he's right. Boss does seem to like me...at least like me more than Killer. He likes me enough to let me call him by his name in private. I'm not just useful in the castle with meals or fighting in battles for him, he seems to like spending time with me. Killer creates messes or tries to impress him in the training room but I give Boss the chance to put more of his castle to use. I give him an excuse to leave his paperwork behind and explore his massive library. He seems to enjoy reading again. He showed me the gardens outside and the greenhouse room he grows plants in. He's quite skilled caring for them and seemed to enjoy teaching me. It's something we share to pass the time and he will tell me tales of various things as we trim plants. He seems to like having company or interests shared instead of being the boss 24/7. Not that he'd ever say that. And it may be dumb to believe with an intimidating boss like mine who hates showing weaknesses, but I think he cares about me. Thinking that the King of Negativity cares may seem stupid since that implies that he allows himself to feel something positive for others, but I've seen him appear genuinely happy and content in our gardening time together and he doesn't seem to have an issue with that. Whatever it is, I'm just glad that it pleases him.

Then I hear footsteps from down the hall coming closer and a familiar mumbling. I can hear a tense soulbeat, one that I recognize by now whenever a certain teammate is stressed. I glance over and sure enough, a familiar red scarf enters my sight. I can't tell much given that his face is completely hidden under the darkness of his hood, but his soul tells me that he's stressed. I just watch quietly as Dust walks past, not wanting to bother him when he already seems troubled. Killer on the other hand being who he is tries to trip him and gets his foot stomped on for trying.

"Oww! What the hell?"He snaps as Dust disappears down the hall.

"You set yourself up for that."I say

He shakes his head, probably rolling the eyes that I can't see.

"Unstable douchebag."

"You're not one to talk about unstable. You're not much better."

"What? It's true! I may not be stable but at least I make an effort around the gang! I can hold conversations with you and we can enjoy stuff! Ya know, bond like actual people! I tried that with Dust but he's an asshole at every turn. Just not worth your time, Horror. So quit defending someone who would rather talk to his dead brother than us."