[Granin, Corun, Torrina, nice to see you.]

The golgari triad look up at me, clearly weary from their travels. Granin frowns slightly more than usual. The final result is a truly grumpy countenance.

[I’m sensing a whole lot of enthusiasm there, Anthony. Should we turn around and head back to where we came from?]

Corun and Torrina look exhausted just thinking about it.

[What? No, no need for that, I’m just a little… conversationed out for the day. There’s been a lot of visitors.]

Granin, still looking grouchy, nods in understanding.

[I can understand that. There may have been a time or two that I’ve felt the same way.]

[One or two… hundred,] Corun mutters over the mind bridge.

[What was that?] Granin snaps.

[Nothing.]

[Thanks for coming down, you three,] I say finding some semblance of my manners. [We really appreciate your help. I’m sure Tiny, Invidia and Crinis will be extremely glad you made the trip. Evolving to tier eight isn’t something you get two chances at, after all.]

[We’re happy to come,] Torrina says with a weary smile. [We wouldn’t miss the chance to help them evolve for anything.]

[I mean, how often do you get to see the birth of a tier eight mythic monster? It’s incredible for our research,] Corun says.

I look at him.

[And helping friends. Obviously.]

[Obviously.]

I shake my antennae.

[You three are tired. Go and rest. I’m sure there are rooms and food prepared already. Although, the ration deliveries have been a little scarce through the wave. I wouldn’t expect the usual selection of pastries.]

[Will there be cake?] Corun asks hopefully.

[Of course there’s cake!] I exclaim angrily. [What do you think we are? Monsters?]

[Well… yes?]

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Granin looks at me sideways.

[We’ll take you up on that offer. I’m two centuries too old to be wandering around in a new stratum. After some recovery, we can start consulting our notes and get ready for the evolutions. There are others who came to see you as well. I assume you already know about that?]

[I do. I’ll chat with them another time. I’m not really interested right now.]

[Fair enough. Speak to you later, then.]

[Take care. If you need me, I’ll be here. I’ve always been here.]

[It’s been a month.]

[You can live many lifetimes in a month, so I’ve been told.]

The triad are only too happy to get to their rooms and have some refreshments to help recover. After all of these visitors, I’m a little chatted out and so I’m not sad to see them go.

“You aren’t really a social creature, are you, Anthony?” Jern inquires, still seated in the same position as before.

“I’m too used to being by myself, I think,” I reply, sighing as I collapse to the ground, folding my legs beneath me. Almost without thinking about it, over half of my mind constructs start working on spell forms, deftly whipping mana about with speed and skill that I certainly hadn’t possessed before. It’s been interesting. Mana Manipulation going up in ranks certainly makes handling the energy easier, which makes any spellcasting faster by default, but with dedication it’s possible to maximise that potential by practice and repetition.

“When have you ever been by yourself?” Jern asks, curious. “I would have thought you’d been around your family since the day you were hatched.”

“Hah. Well, which family are we talking about?” I groan, idly watching the work of my constructs as I relax.

“The… the Colony. How many families do you have, Great One?”

“How many? Wait a second, what are we talking about?”

Mentally I run back over the conversation and blanch internally. I have been getting way too comfortable talking to Jern to almost let that slip!

“We were talking about your family? Families?”

“Right, right. Just the one family, obviously. The Colony. What a great family to have, couldn’t ask for better.”

Which is perfectly true. Thinking I should cover my slip, my mind races for a plausible excuse.

“You might not know this, but I wasn’t actually born inside the Colony. The nest was raided and a number of pupae were stolen, taken out into the tunnels. I was lucky to emerge alive, but I was by myself, completely alone with no allies around.”

“I… I’d never heard this,” Jern says, blinking.

“Well, who was going to tell you? This was well before any of us came into contact with humans. Eventually I found the Colony, but for a while it was just me running around by myself.”

“Am I allowed to tell the others about this?” he asks me, his usual blank expression on his face.

“I mean… sure? I guess. It’s not exactly a secret. Life got a lot better after I found the Colony, let me tell you. If nothing else, it was nice to have someone to talk to. The Queen was the only one who could really talk back then, but she was very supportive and kind to me.”

Honestly, it would be nice to see The Queen again. It’s been a while since I had the chance to check in with her, but I’m worried about asking her to come down to see me, and it isn’t easy for me to go up and visit. My worry is that after she gets down to this depth, my mother will refuse to leave again, deciding to hunt and remain down in the depths.

I wouldn’t put it past her, not in the slightest. Give her an inch and she’ll take a mile.

Still, it would be nice to see my mother.

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