I turned to Sybil and forced my tone to be civil and understanding. “Hello, Beta. How are you doing?”

She cocked her head as she sized me up, and I found myself unconsciously adjusting my stance to be as magnificent as possible. What exactly that meant, I wasn’t sure, but I did look her solidly in the face, and after taking another moment to look me up and down, Sybil bowed her head in respect. “I am glad to see you are finally awake. You have changed even more since last I checked on you.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. It is interesting to see you standing, since before it was difficult to get the full measure of you while asleep.”

As always, Sybil maintained her neutral, slightly submissive stance, and the “superior” part of me reveled in it, in the acknowledgement of my position and power. The reasonable rest of me couldn’t help but smirk a little before doing a little turn for her to look.

“Yes, very impressive.” Her dry tone only barely bordered on insubordinate, but it broke the cold, snobbish part of me. Without thinking, I lunged the three steps forward to where I could touch her. As Sybil startled back, I caught her shoulders and kept her from moving before gently nipping at her throat, my teeth scraping against the scales. Then, realizing what I had just done and not entirely sure what I’d meant by it, I released her, stepped back and began to try to figure out how I would be able to explain this. I decided to act like it was totally normal, and began speaking as I turned and walked further into my space.

“I’m sure there’s a reason why you’re here. It just so happens I was wanting some help with scrubbing some of the difficult to reach parts of my back. Would you help me as we speak?”

Sybil said nothing, but didn’t hesitate to walk forward and into the sands of the bath with me. I, on the other hand, had no idea what I had done or why or what to do moving forward, but I felt I couldn’t back pedal, so I laid down in the sands and let Sybil begin to cup handfuls of sand and to firmly yet gently scrub at the least scrubbed parts of my back.

“I had thought I heard movement, so I came to investigate. This is the longest you have ever been asleep like that, so we were beginning to get concerned. In the end, though, it seems there was no need for us to be, as you are as… energetic as always.” As she spoke, she continued to scrub at the parts of my back I could never reach, and I leaned and pushed into it with a groan of contentment.

“True enough. What has happened in the pack since I left?”

“Of particular note? Other than general progress and growth, there has been little that needs your attention. The only true concern of the pack, and especially the new who came under Ytte, is that there continued to be a decline in the numbers and quality of prey to be found nearby. The reality is that we are hunting more than our surroundings can provide, and as long as we continue to do so, the hunts will continue to decline in how much they can provide for us. We have sent small expeditions further away than ever before, but extended hunting in that direction is becoming somewhat untenable, with the amount of journeying necessary. I’ve been able to calm the pack as a whole, but your conscious presence will change the general mood of the unhappy more naturally than Etra, Cree, and I have been able to.”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Very well. We need a resolution to that, even if morale improves. I’ll see if Rulac or even Redael has any advice for us, they’ll know more about our surroundings than we do. Anything else?”

“No, not at this time, Ashlani.”

I felt a shiver run down my spine at her referring to me affectionately while scrubbing my back. Partially at her “insolence” at refraining from using my title, but the rest of me recognized the closeness of this situation. I didn’t want to further explore that feeling, so, with a grunt, I motioned for Sybil to step back. She did so immediately and I rose to my feet, towering over her.

“Great, thank you for the report, and the help. I’ll be out soon.”

“As you command.” Again, Sybil bowed, then she left without complaint. Again, I found myself fighting against my immediate approval of her submission and instead looked inward for some reason as to why I was acting this way to her. As the Administrator had said, there was “no gift without its price”, but was this going to be temporary or more permanent? If I needed to constantly fight against this urge to look down on my subordinates, then… well, I was ok with that.

Then, finally, I took the opportunity to look at my new [Status], surprised by a particularly wordy notification appearing upon my opening the [Status].

[The User was in the process of evolution while the benefit of a Stat bonus from a keelish’s regular growth spurt was due to occur. The additional Stats to be provided to a Young Sonic Magicblood Brood Alpha Khatif evolving from a keelish at their ninth growth period have been added to the Stat gains from evolution.]

[Status:

Name: Ashlani

Race: Young Sonic Magicblood Brood Alpha Khatif

Titles: Chosen of Nievtala

Current quests:

-Hunt 3 new species. Reward will vary depending upon the evolutionary level of prey. Base reward: Constitution, Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Magic +2.

-Gain control of 15% of the entire swarm. Reward: Constitution, Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Magic +5. Progress: 7%

- Speak the entirety of the First Iteration of the Words of Power of Nievtala. Reward: Constitution, Strength, Agility +4, Intelligence, Magic +3. Progress: 4/5

Stats:

-Constitution: 48+8+3=59

-Strength: 55+9+4=68

-Agility: 58+9+5=72

-Intelligence: 47+9+3=59

-Magic: 45+9+3=57

Skills:

Adversary: 2/10

Combatant’s Bloodlust: Unqualified, 0/4

Dominance: 49/100

Evolutionary foresight (Cannot Evolve)

Evolutionary Guide: (Cannot Evolve)

Exceptional Individual (Cannot Evolve)

Innate Leadership (Cannot Evolve)

Innervating Address (Cannot Evolve)

Pack Tactics: 1/10

Pain Tolerance (Cannot Evolve)

Profound Sonilphon: 1/5

Evolutionary Possibilities

-Adult Sonic Alpha Khatif: Survive 60 days. Progress: 55/60

Other evolutions possible, but not currently foreseen. Progress further, and such possibilities will be presented to you.]

I had hoped for, and frankly expected, a litany of new [Skills] to dive into, but this, while simple, was more than enough to excite me.