The flesh-eater was... Was it frightened or simply unnerved? It could be either but it didn't necessarily matter. She cared very little. But it seemed he was very much not in control of the beast inside of him. Interesting. How new was this little child that he could not fight off the cold? And she knew it was cold with the way the drones darted back, went to hide inside the warmth of the hive to fight the chill from their thin wings. The Queen arched their eyebrow at the apology that wasn't entirely heartfelt but nodded their head slightly anyway in acknowledgment of the word.
The Queen lifted Marisol's hand and gestured for Rose to come closer, "Come, healer. Come. You have no reason to fear the drones. They may sit upon your skin but a gentle touch makes gentle bees. We are not in distress. We act at the request of the Ringmaster. He has us seek the knife in the dark and the ones lost to it." And though she had addressed Rose first, her eyes were on Vaughn, watching him intently. Strange, strange creature.
"Yes, you did offend," she told Vaughn without hesitation, "Marisol has been our home for a very long time. People forget that we are two entities, forget she exists, treat her poorly. They have always treated her poorly. I would suggest you try again later but she won't believe you." The Queen knew Marisol too well. The poor thing always believed that no one could be kind on their own. They always wanted something in return. Perhaps that was the Queen's fault, but not any more than the people in Marisol's past.
It was a smoother action that settled hands on Marisol's stomach, one that wasn't necessarily the Queen and the emptiness faded away for sadness just for a brief moment. The hint of human emotion vanished rather quickly though. Marisol couldn't have control back just yet. It would have been too damaging to her psyche.