The dirt mounds that had begun to fill up the communal area were almost all gone. What had previously been a nearly impassable maze of loose earth piled into hills was now a well-tended room. No longer were there impassable spaces from carelessly thrown dirt, or decaying bone piles. Now, instead, there was a space almost engineered to its greatest capability, best able to use the space that was becoming more and more cramped as time passed.
As we weary warriors passed into our cleaned home, Sybil came out to greet us, flanked by Etra and Cree. I noted the brief pause as she took note of our massive prey dragged behind us before speaking, while Etra and Cree’s reactions were much more obvious as they stood with mouths wide open.
“Thank you… for returning with… food, Alpha. May I… assume that you… will allow… us to feed… as well? If not… we must go… and hunt now.” At Sybil’s words, I noted Etra and Cree’s fear at the mention of going to hunt just them three.
I clicked my teeth together as I shook my head. “You have… worked hard. Please… join us.”
Sybil bowed her head as she flared her frills in acknowledgment. However, before she approached, she spoke once again.
“Do you… wish to cleanse… yourself before eating… Alpha?”
Again, a click of my teeth as my weary mind finally parsed what she had said. No name, just Alpha. Referring to me by title, and, as my mind caught up and began to understand, further cementing my position to the rest of the spawnlings present.
“Thank you… Sybil. Please… come eat.”
I could feel my exhaustion showing as I hardly cared at how I was forced to stumble over my own words. I idly hoped that I would be able to better express myself after evolution, since that had seemed to occur with Tieran and the other pack leaders after they’d become Alphas. One could hope, I supposed. But, for now, all that I wanted to do was to eat until I was full and then collapse into a hopefully healing evolution.
The first step on my list was easy enough. I alone could easily (somewhat) cut through the scales of the snake, so I obliged myself to cut out a couple of locations from which the rest of the pack could begin their own meals. Before long, I was again buried in the Martanimis Python, only this time it was just my face, and I was happily stuffing myself until several bites past comfortably full. In fact, so full was I that I needed to rest, tighten my stomach, and slowly tread back to the den where I could begin to rest off my discomfort. Especially the discomfort of my cracked ribs, which still ached with every step, breath, and seemingly, heartbeat. And my thumb. And the bite puncture wounds lining my back from the nape of my neck to the base of my tail.
There was a lot of me that needed recovery.
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Groaning, I waddled into our den, no, my den, and there I was surprised again by the renovations that Sybil had been able to effectuate so quickly with so little labor force. The communal sleeping spot had been enlarged again, giving space to spread out or cuddle together, whichever suited the fancy of any individual, while the pantry had been carved deeper to allow for much more storage. Not enough to store our prey from today, I noted with a slight smile.
Another addition, one I couldn’t quite understand though, was a new hole in the back of the room. Peeking in, there was enough space for maybe two or three keelish to sleep within, and a little space with loose dirt. Upon further inspection, the loose dirt was clean sand that could be used to bathe, and where Sybil had found it, I couldn’t possibly guess. Regardless, it seemed that she had created a personal bathroom for the pack in here, which I found myself grinning in pleasure at.
“What do… you think?”
Sybil’s voice pulled me from my musings and observations. She stood, stoic and slightly subservient, behind me. There were no tells of what she was actually thinking, and, for the first time, I wondered if I had allowed the most dangerous of the brood to become my advisor. Would she turn on me as easily as she had on Tieran?
I shook the thoughts from my head. “It is… nice. I will… use it… when I get… better.”
She cocked her head. “Why not… sleep here today?”
“Sleep?”
“This is… your space. You can sleep… or bathe… or mate here.”
The reality quickly closed in on me. Of course this was my space. What other member of the pack so obviously enjoyed bathing, as well as was in a position of leadership over the rest of the pack? Of course I would be given preferential treatment and space–
“To mate?”
Sybil flicked her tail as a shrug, the rest of her body noncommittal. “Someday.”
That truly was a thought to shake out of my head. No, I wasn’t going to bed a keelish. Regardless of my discomfort regarding keelish mating, I turned to face Sybil squarely.
“Thank you. Not just… for this… but for… building… me up… to the rest. You are… a capable advisor.”
Sybil’s nod/bow went deeper this time, and she was more obviously somewhat embarrassed and proud of my praise. “It is… who I am. I am… not a leader… but a supporter.”
I bowed my head in return. “Please. Continue to… support me.” Then, I settled into a comfortable position on the floor as I dismissed Sybil with a flick of my frills. She left as I turned back to my [Status], finally looking a bit more at the details provided about my imminent evolution.
[Evolution typically requires a basic restructuring of your body. You will fall unconscious as the reconstruction takes place. Evolution to: Young Keelish Bloodletter Alpha from your current physiology will take place over the duration of 4 hours. Evolution will provide a marked bonus to your stats, as well as certain obvious physiological changes. Note: the evolution into a Young Alpha Keelish of any type is generally less impactful than an evolution to a differently specialized race. Thus, basic restructuring of the body is unnecessary.]
Huh. Maybe this evolution wouldn’t be as impactful as the first, but I was still looking forward to the ability to speak with the Administrator once again and ask another question. After all, knowledge would be the only leverage I had against Viilor when I ripped his throat out.