"Helen, Mathis, wake up. It's your big day today."

Amelia smiled as she watched how her two children almost jumped out of their beds, despite them appearing deep asleep mere moments ago. Well, as much as someone can jump out of a sleeping bag, especially if they were sleeping next to someone who was trying to do just the same.

"Mama, mama, mama, are we going to get our companions today!" Helen squeaked while trying to tackle-hug her mother. She was immediately followed by her brother tackle-hugging both of them.

"Yep, I already went to take a look and there are two little pups waiting for you."

""Yeaaaay!""

Amelia felt her heart fill with joy while her children danced around her.

It had been six years since she had adopted these two, and there hadn't been a single day she hadn't thanked Drika for the chance that she had been given. She knew her husband Carl did the same. They'd never had any children of their own, and probably never would.

"Come, mama, let's go!" her son Mathis said while trying to drag her along. The futile attempts of the two six-year-olds to make her hurry up made her smile again.

"Hun, hun. First, you're gonna wash up and put on your clothes, then we'll have breakfast and then we'll go see the pups."

And even their look of betrayal didn't make her lose her smile.

"Mama" "No" "Please" "Let's go already"

But, despite the many protests of the two children, the morning rituals were completed in record time. They considered themselves washed while barely touching the water - which didn't work - and crammed their breakfast as if they were starving.

Before too long, they were making their way through the camp to Eric's tent, one of their resident broodmasters and breeder.

The twins were enthusiastically talking about all the exciting things and shenanigans they could do once they had a companion when Helen suddenly became very solemn.

She looked up to her mother.

"Mama, do you think that I will be a mut?"

Amelia suppressed a sigh. Being a mut is and has always been one of the great fears of childhood and there was nothing really she could do about it, except for trying to prepare them in case it happened.

"It's possible," she answered, trying to sound as optimistic as she could, "and there's nothing wrong with being a mut. Anyone can be a mut."

"Really?"

The anxiety in her daughter's voice made it clear that the 'noting wrong' part had not been convincing.

"Don't worry though, chances are you'll be just like me and get a nice companion. What has gotten you suddenly so afraid?"

"I mean it's just..."

Helen looked ashamed at the ground.

"Liz told Hellen yesterday that she was stupid and that she would be a mut and never have a companion," Mathis said.

Liz being a girl one year older than them who they were friends with most of the time. Most of the time.

"Oh did she? Well... That's... very silly of her. Until you try for the first time, nobody knows what you'll be. Anything is possible."

She had told this time and time again, but it still seemed to give comfort to her two kids. They sunk back deep in thought for about two seconds.

"I'm gonna be a companion master and I'm gonna have three companions." Mathis showed three fingers to emphasise his words.

Amelia laughed out loud at the sudden shift from nihilism to ludicrous optimism.

"It could be."

"And I'm gonna be a broodqueen with a hundred drones," Helen said, not wanting to outdone by her brother

"Well, I guess that's just about enough to be called a queen."

"Then I'm gonna have a thousand drones." Clearly, 'just about' was not enough.

"Well," Amelia said, "I don't think I've ever heard of a broodqueen with a thousand drones.

"Anyway, we're here. Are you ready?"

They had arrived at Eric's tent. He was sitting in front of it, together with Dietrich, the captain of the company and Carl, Amelia's husband. Together, they were watching the trio approach with much anticipation.

"Hello, Mathis and Hellen," Eric welcomed them, "Are you ready to try for your first companion? Come, sit down." He gestured at the ground in front of him.

The children sat down quickly, almost hopping back up with anticipation.

"Everyone ready?" Eric looked left and right to all that were seated. "Well then, here they are."

From his lap, he lifted two little dark chocolate furballs. They were both about 15 cm long, their elongated neck already clearly visible, but their arms still tiny stomps. Immediately, the children's eyes went wide like saucers.

"You can each pick one."

There was a little bit of undecidedness, as they tried to figure out which of the pups was the best. Not that there wasn't much point to that, as Eric had specifically selected the two pups that looked most like each other. Pretty quickly, the twins decide to just pick up the nearest one.

It was at this point that Dieterich took over.

"Good. Now it is time you try to make a bond."

It wasn't often that the leader of the company spoke directly to Hellen and Mathis. It was also quite often that they could hear him shout commands that everyone hurried to fulfil. Both children were thus that rather intimidated by his voice.

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"Hold up your pup and make sure her head is just in front of your face."

He mimicked with both hands holding a pup about ten centimetres in front of his eyes. A movement the children quickly copied.

"Good. Now, you must listen to them. Not with your ears, but with your mind."

The two children did as he said and looked right in the eyes of their respective pups. The mood had become solemn, now that their jitters had been tempered by the voice of their captain.

"If you listen carefully, you can hear them ask: 'do you want to be my master?'"

A couple more seconds passed in silence.

"I... I think I can hear her," Hellen said.

"Me too, I think."

"Good. Now, the same way you can hear them, just accept. Say it's okay. Open your heart and your mind to her."

Not even a second after those instructions, Mathis draw in a grasp of air. His datch, who had before been lethargic, suddenly perked up. The boy looked at his sister, who looked back with the same look on her face, her furball looking this and that way trying to drink in the sights around her.

""It worked!"" The twins shouted simultaneously.

They jumped up and made a little dance to celebrate as shouts filled the air.

""yeaaaay!"" "Congratulations!" "I'm so proud of you"

Their parents immediately came in to hug and congratulate them.

"Wait!" Hellen shouted.

Everyone froze.

"We have to tell Liz."

"..."

"Let's go!" Her brother shouted.

And they ran off.

The adults watched them go.

"Euh, did I missing something?" Carl asked his wife. She was softly chuckling.

"Just children being children. They're gonna make Liz eat her words."

"Well," Eric said, "congrats to you both. I'd say that went pretty smooth for a first time."

"Yes, congratulations to you both," Dietrich said, "I'm always happy to have another two broodmasters in the company."

The two parents looked up in surprise.

"Broodmasters? You're sure?" asked Carl.

"Pretty much," Dietrich explained, "Both your children are. The easiest way to see it is to look whether the pup is looking at the same things they are."

Both parents looked back at their kids who were just disappearing between some tents. Mathis' drone was looking over his shoulder right back at them.

"Also," Eric added, "how quickly they were running around again. If they had a companion, they would need at least five minutes to get used to all the new senses."

Amelia turned her head in confusion.

"But, don't you also get the senses of your drones?" she asked the broodmaster.

"Not the same way as you do. You can see through the eyes of your companion. I know what my drones see. I don't look myself. Similarly, I don't move their limbs, I just point them to where I want them to go."

Amelia sighted at that.

"You know, I've been told that before. I never quite understood it and I still don't. I'm not sure if I ever will. I guess I'll try a bit more now?"

"It's not that important, Amelia," Dietrich reassured her. "Just understand that they are different. Also, with them living in your house, I think the difference between a drone and a companion will become apparent rather quickly."

"Oh well. In each case, now they're definitely going to make Liz eat her words."

All four adults chuckled at that.

"Oh, before we forget, Carl, can you please fetch your children back?" Dieterich said.

"Yeah, sure. Why?"

"I still have to tell them how to select a variant. Better not leave that up to their own."

"Oh yeah, better not indeed."

---------------

It didn't take long for Carl to find his children. The camp wasn't that big and there were only so many infants yelling at each other.

"... that you are silly yourself! Also, my pup is way cuter than yours."

"Yeah, yours looks like a wet dog."

"That's not true! Well, your pups look like... euh... they have the color of poop!"

That was the moment where Carl arrived on the scene.

"Hello, young ladies, young man, what's going on here?"

"Nothing papa," Mathis quickly said, "We were just showing Liz our new pups."

"Yeah," Hellen joined in, "we were just comparing ours with hers a bit."

Liz was just pouting.

Their father looked at them with his best disappointing frown.

"Is that so? Because I heard some things that didn't sound very nice. That is no behaviour that is becoming of two young broodmasters."

"I'm sorry pa... Broodmasters?!" The son quickly abandoned his apology when some more important information broke through.

"We are broodmasters?!"

"Both of us?!"

When seeing their uncontained joy, Carl couldn't help but turn his frown into a little smile.

"Yes, both of you are. Nice, isn't it?"

The twins turned to each other to share each other's elation... and then Hellen turned further towards Liz.

"Did you hear that. We..."

"Hellen!"

"Sorry, papa."

Carl sighted.

"Well, Dieterich still wanted to talk to you about something. So, hup, go back."

""Yes papa.""

The twins slowly walked away... and then ran off giggeling, absolutely elated.

Carl saw them go and felt his heart fill with love and joy. If he could, he would do everything for his two adopted children. He then looked back and saw Liz, who clearly looked like she didn't want to be there anymore.

"Well, what are you still doing here? Off you go."

"Yes, mister Carl."

---------------

"Lisen well. There is one more thing I need to explain to you and that is how to pick the variant your drone is going to grow up in."

The entire group was sitting back in the same arrangement as before, with Dieterich explaining.

"First, you hold your drone back in front of you and listen to her. If you lisen car... Not yet!"

Mathis dropped his drone back in his lap.

"If you listen carefully, you can hear her talk about four forms she could be and hesitating which she should pick. If you are not gonna pick, she is just going to roll a dice. We don't want that, because only one of the forms is useful to you. It is the worker you want to get. It feels like the calm and strong form, but you really can't miss. Okay? Now you can try."

The twins picked up their drones and started staring at them.

"It might be that you can't hear them say that yet," Dieterich said after ten seconds had passed. "They are still only a couple of hours old, and it might take half a day or so before that call becomes clear."

"Also, it is a bit harder because you are broodmasters," Eric added. "We can hear this call only a bit later."

Another five seconds later Hellen lowered her drone back in her lap with a disappointing pout. Her gaze then turned pensive.

"Mister Dieterich?"

"Yes?"

"What are the other three forms?"

Dieterich had to curl up his lips at that. Of course, she was going to ask that.

"Well, the second form you're also pretty familiar with: a warrior, like Ima here."

He petted his companion who was seated next to him.

"They are very good a fighting, but not so good at doing chores, which you will be doing, which is why you should not take them. In a couple of years, we will learn you how to fight. Until then, don't.

"The third form is the mother. They are where new datch come from. They need a lot of special care and can't do anything else, so again: don't take them.

"The last form is the envoy. They're useless. Don't take them or you'll regret it for as long that she's alive. Okay?"

Hellen nodded. Mathis was still holding his pup up in front of his eyes.

"I still can't hear her say anything."

"Don't wory about it. Unless you still can't by this evening, in which case you should tell your parents."

Dieterich looked up to the rest of the party.

"Well, I think that was everything. Amelia, will you show them how to take care of their new friends?"

And with that dismissal, the family retreated back to their own tent, under loud chatter of the children.

"How many drones do you think they will be able to control?" Dieterich asked Eric. Both men were still seated.

"Well, we can't tell until we try, of course, dut I do think it will be more than a couple."

"More than five?"

"If I were a betting men, which I am, I'd say yes. It went very smooth for a first bond. I also think they are already in full control of their drones. Not that I have much to compare them with, but I seem to remember that Peter, back in the day, needed almost a day before he was fully in control."

"And Peter can only control three. So, a lot more than five?"

"No way to tell except by trying. And we should only give them their second drone next year."

"Yeah, indeed. By the way, can we supply them with enough datch?"

"At the moment, we need about forty pups per year, depending on battles. One mother gives between twenty-five and thirty, so we have two of them anyway. If those children can handel five each, that means ten extra every three years. Unless you get half our stock killed, we'll be fine."

"Good to know."

For some time, the two sat next to each other in contemplative silence, Dieterich petting his warrior.

Eric spoke up.

"You know, I have a good feeling about those two. They might very well go past ten each."

"Broodlords?"

"Yeah. Broodlords."