Life was good. Although I would have to toss the rotting goblin corpses out tomorrow. I shrugged and laid down in the entrance, allowing my kids to play in comfort as I anxiously watched for any ants. I felt better as the day progressed. My wounds slowly healed as I chilled.

I rolled onto my back and watched the game my kids were playing now. It looked like tag except instead of tagging the other you had to tackle them to the ground. Wow, my kids are violent. I don’t think my kids were like this before, so why are they play fighting so much? Oh well, probably good for them to get used to fighting with the state this world is in.

Oh my god, am I the old relative that complains about politics? No! I’m the fun rich uncle with the best kids that everyone is jealous of! Although I’m pretty sure I don’t have any siblings. Or a mom. Well, obviously I have a mom but she abandoned me. What a bitch. Actually now that I think about it, she really is a bitch. Who just abandons their kid in such a dangerous place? I almost got eaten by rats for goodness sake!

I angrily grabbed Tim and snuggled up against him as he squealed happily. His siblings quickly sprinted over and piled on top of me as I patted each of them on the head and internally complained.

How could my mom do that? I didn’t have any experience as a parent but I stepped up! My kids were great! It's Creeps fault they died! I bet he had them killed, probably wanted to make sure I couldn’t run away. I wish he had captured them instead. Then they would be alive.

“Enough! No more unhappy thoughts!” I slowly picked up each of my kids with my tail and placed them in the sleeping area. After making sure they were okay I moved the boulder into the entrance and sat outside.

I started tossing some of the corpses over the wall while talking to myself. “Alright, it’s time to plan. I need to teach my kids some useful stuff for their lives. So what would be useful? I’ll teach them their numbers. Basic arithmetic stuff like that. Should I also teach them how to write? It’s difficult with our limbs not really being made for that type of stuff.”

I accidentally stepped on a corpse and grumbled as I tried to wipe the gunk off my foot. “I should probably teach them how to fight as well. I mean there's definitely a few strategies that work better than others. Like having the hatchlings paralyze the enemy while the bruisers kill them.”

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I nodded in respect to myself, it was a good strategy. “But what would really help them? What can I do to ensure they get good lives? Babying them their entire life won’t help them. Maybe I should get them to evolve? But I wanna make sure they get to enjoy themselves first. But is that just me being overbearing about theri safety? Does evolving really mean they can’t play?

“Ugh” I wish there was someone I could ask about this stuff. Parenting is harder than I thought it would be. I collapsed to the ground and rolled onto my back. I stared at the clouds slowly passing by. What if I wasn’t good enough? What if I wasn’t strong enough to protect them again?

I quickly shook that thought away and hopped to my feet. “Don’t be an idiot! You’re a dad now. Step up and hang out with your children.” I walked over to the entrance of the cave and moved the boulder. Inside the cave was a mess. Dried grass was everywhere as I stared at the mound that had been transported to the center of the cave. My kids were diving in and out, sending grass and moss everywhere.

I smiled as I lazily grabbed Marlow and James before yelling. “Tim, Tom, Charlie and Chester! Get over here!” They sprinted over and I patted each of them on the head before saying. “It’s time to start your education, kids.”

I brought them outside to a relatively clean part of the clearing outside our cave. Marlow was staring at the goblin corpses but I pushed his head away and said. “Kids, I don’t really know what your future is gonna be like. But I know one thing. You are going to be put in situations where you have to fight to the death. So we are gonna make sure you’re ready for that.”

They all nodded excitedly and Tim and Tom immediately started play fighting. I felt a pang of guilt at forcing my kids to participate in this murder world. I quickly squashed the feeling and said. “As I’m sure you’ve discovered by now, you have venom that paralyzes others.”

They nodded and I saw Chester glare at James who just smiled smugly. I smiled and said. “When you’re older you’ll get the opportunity to evolve. You’ll still have the paralyzing venom but it won’t be your main weapon unless you’re fighting something big like me. If you’re fighting something big you should try to kill it without relying on the venom. Always fight dirty and go for the kill. Except when you’re fighting your siblings, don't kill each other.”

They attently listened to everything I said as I began to explain how I wanted them to fight as hatchlings. “If you ever have to fight as a hatchling or need to teach a hatchling how to fight, remember this. You’ll have to use hit and run tactics. That means running in, biting them and quickly running away. This can confuse the enemy if there's enough of you and it will slow them down.”

My kids all nodded as I smiled and said “Get into groups of three. Have one of you act like the monster while the others act like the hatchlings. If the big monster catches you then you have to sit out. Whoever does the best gets the best piece of goblin tonight.” The best piece was the arms. I personally ate them whole but my kids always fought over the arms.

They excitedly got to work as I once again felt guilt run through me. Here I was, in the middle of nowhere teaching my kids how to kill stuff. What’s wrong with me? I lost focus for a second until I heard a familiar phrase bring me back. “For the Queen!”

I almost threw up as I stared at James in horror. He was standing atop a paralyzed Marlow, proudly staring at me while Tim sat in the background. James’s first words. And they had been a warcry.

I was about to say something but the rest of my kids took up the call. “For the Queen! For the Queen! For the Queen!” Their shrill voices hit me right in the heart as I stumbled back, staring at my kids professing their undying loyalty to me. “For the Queen! For the Queen! For the Queen!”