Imagine Lace accompanying Hornet to one of the settlements in Pharloom, watching her help out the pilgrims, hearing them talk to her, stuttering and rambling about their struggles. While Hornet listens intently with a slow nod of understanding, Lace laughs in their face.

“Why are you wasting time with this, little spider? Why not show them your sting? Their screams would be far more entertaining than this prattle.”

The pilgrim flinches. Bugs already were on edge at seeing the white‍-​clad fencer who had hunted them so gleefully, and Lace had done nothing to calm those anxieties since becoming a regular sight at the weaver’s side.

Hornet hisses and sends a sharp look of disapproval at her‍ ‍‍—‍ which only makes the fencer smile wider. Hornet spoke flatly, steel in her tone. “If my affairs are so intolerable to you, then remove yourself.”

“Oh, but you intrigue me far more than anything else in this wretched roachsty. You could be so delicious, so why do you surround yourself with these tasteless bores?”

“Says the one creature most persistently in my company. I have known the buzzing of mosquitos to be less insufferable. If I were to begin answering annoyance with my needle, why would I not start with you?”

“Why indeed! You what I think? You must be scared of my pin. I can feel your eyes on me, always watching for my next move. Are you trembling, morsel?”

Hornet only sighs. She kept an eye on the fencer to ensure she didn’t return to her old habits, but explaining herself would be a trap. “I know the game you’re playing, and I won’t indulge you.” She turns away, taking her eyes off the other girl, though a hand remained on the pommel of her needle.

A barely audible huff, a twitch of Lace’s face, and then she said, “What game? Do you think I have any need to deceive you? Or are you simply dodging the question?”

“Do you think you’re the first bug to provoke my temper, seeking some satisfaction from a fight they cannot win? To lie defeated beneath me is a position some would relish. I’ve seen it before.” Hornet shakes her head with a distasted click of her mouthparts

“Puffing yourself up, now? You might have half of a Pharloom in awe of you, but I know you aren’t faultless. Bravado is beneath you.”

Hornet didn’t respond, instead producing a thread of silk and twisting it between her fingers. Her focus rested there.

So Lace continued, “And I’m hardly some kind of masochist‍ ‍‍—‍ no, the thrill I seek is not defeat, just the dance I know you have coiled up in those limbs. Doesn’t it make you restless, this… whats the word… peace?” she didn’t spit the words‍ ‍‍—‍ that would be undignified‍ ‍‍—‍ but there was a vexed emphasis. “Stubborn spider, you’re only depriving us both of the excitement.”

Hornet continued to play with her silk, looping a thread around one finger and forming a narrow triangle, soon crossing it with a new line.

“Stubborn and rude! Worry about your little web when you aren’t in the middle of a conversation.”

That cresent mask tilted in confusion. “But I’m not in the middle of a conversation‍ ‍‍—‍ simply victim to some buzzing.”

Lace scowled and reached out with a swiping hand, poised to cut through the silken strands, but Hornet’s hand snapped up even quicker to grab her by the wrist. She squeezed tight‍ ‍‍—‍ Lace smirked.

“You lack subtlety, Lace. Do you realize you’re only proving me correct? Shouldn’t that frustrate you?”

“Wouldn’t you like to feel just how frustrated I am? Subtle or not, words lack the weight of a pin. Anything I say could be spun into a proof for your accusations. If you claim I thirst for defeat, I see no better rebuttal than simply winning!”

“Or, you could do no such thing.”

Lace didn’t tilt her head; that was an animal gesture. She said, “What?”

“If you want to prove me wrong, the easiest thing of all would be to stop begging for my attention at every available opportunity. I would even apologize.”

“Ha! Really, is that it?”

“You aren’t capable of it, to be clear. But if you were, I would be wrong to have misjudged you.”

Lace crossed her arms. “Rude and presumptive! Fine, if that’s what you ask, this will be the last you hear of me‍ ‍‍—‍ until, of course, you come crawling back. Or should I say scuttling back? Hmm…”

Again, Hornet said nothing. This time Lace turned her back and took a step away.

She lasted five minutes.

Hornet had to admit‍ ‍‍—‍ she was impressed.