We catch our breaths and settle down while she directs some of her more articulative minions to the bathing pond where I initially woke alongside Gnat.

I give my daughter a bit of space and time to splash around and vent before bringing my presence closer, “{You already saw everything didn’t you.}”

I nod to her, “I saw a fair bit. Maybe even a bit more than you did. Do you want to talk about it?”

She submerges herself in the waters and shakes her head no, “Do you want some more privacy? I can leave you be if you’d prefer.”

Her voice is quiet, even with how this place is devoid of much extraneous sound, “{Please stay.}”

I push myself further into this place and settle myself against her, holding her close in a way I haven’t been able to do before now, “Would you like to just sit here in silence for a time, or do you want a distraction?”

She leans into the weight that Dream lets me exert within their aura and is quiet for a long while before I catch a mumbled, “{Distraction.}”

I smile there for her and give her what hug I can, “Sure thing. Hmm. Distractions, distractions. Well, I suppose one thing we could talk about is auras and aura control. Though I’m hardly one to really speak on the subject, considering I cheated. Yet, I think it’s got some good meat to tear into.”

She’s relaxed and calmed down quite a bit these last couple of minutes and so when she cocks her head to look up at where I imagined myself to be, I can’t help the swell of pride, “{Aura control?}”

I keep a close hold of her as I shift my attention away a bit, not wanting to overwhelm her while making sure she can feel loved, “Yeah. What I’ve been doing this last while, all aura control. Like I said before, I cheated a bit so I’m not going to be a good teacher. But the masters of it are all around us, Thing and especially Dream.”

She glances around, nods and then looks back up at me, “The reason I bring it up is because I noticed that your cloud couldn’t really follow you back when you were flying. You’ve been able to outpace them for your last couple evolutions, but this is the first chance you’ve had to really get up there and stretch your muscles and speed. They just can’t keep up as they are right now.”

“{And you think aura control will help that?}”

I gesture around us and make a breeze rustle some of the leaves on the trees, “Can’t say for certain, but it could, it should. At least it makes sense to me that way. You might learn better from Thing than Dream. And not just because Dream is still quite young, but because their method fills a place and then I or they can exert influence there. Thing however, is more like you, and likely was at least partially inspired by your gnat scouts when they evolved.”

She steps out of the bath and starts grooming her feathers, “{So, what would be the goal with this aura control thing, exactly?}”

I settle my presence nearby and respect the autonomy she’s taken, “The idea that I had, and again I’m not sure it would even work, is basically to bind yourself tighter to your gnats via aura than they are bound to the world around them. That way you could carry them with you, even when you’re going at top speed and have them react faster and more effectively during hectic fights.”

A spokes-mouse for Cutest channels her voice nearby, “”

My face scrunches up in confused curiosity, “How long has it been? I’ve looked around at our progress and all, but I don’t really know how much time has passed. Also, seasons are a thing, right?”

The brood mouse heads over to Gnat and helps her with her grooming, using her paws and pups to help get everything cleaned and settled properly, “”

I sit back and let that thought soak in. One year. One whole year. Only one year. I sweep my gaze throughout my domain, the blur of creatures and plants and all the power already packed into my children, “We’re growing fast. Maybe too fast?”

“{As long as we are comfortable with our power and not abusive with it, there isn’t a ‘too fast’ to grow strong. As much of a crusted slag feather as the big guy is, he’s much stronger than me. And from what Cutest shared about the particulars of our alliance, he’s still on the lower end of the spectrum out there. So, maybe you’re right in a way. The faster we grow, the more attention we might gather, but also the sooner we’ll be able to defend ourselves against actual bastards out there.}”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I nod along to her assessment, “Another dumb question. Aren’t there too many critters running around? I can still count them, somehow, but the numbers are getting really ridiculous.”

Gnat looks down at the mouse in curiosity, before Cutest’s sigh echoes from it, “”

She sweeps a paw around to indicate the grove, “”

Going back to her cleaning duties, “”

“Okay. That’s a relief. Because when I look out across the land and see dozens and hundreds and thousands of critters soaking in my Mana and Mako, I was worried that everything was me. But looking again, I can finally see the difference between mob and delver. It’s about the flows. Mobs don’t disrupt the energy around them in the same way.”

“{Aurora Hephaestus described the difference as a stone in a river versus a crack in an aqueduct. Where the stone has made its place and while it changes the river, the river changes it too. Though he offered caution on relying on that sort of sensation, because the stronger and wiser creatures can learn how to mimic that to better hide themselves, or siphon greater power.}”

I find myself drifting through my domain, even as the conversation fully engages me. Gliding through the forest feels like memories washing over me, distracting but not really something that calls for effort on my part. My mind wanders for a several minutes that starts shifting towards hours with no real end in sight when something snags my attention.

While keeping my gaze fixed on a specific scene I glance back over my shoulder to my brain in the burrow, “Hey, Cutest? Is that the same lynx that tried to eat you back when Gnat caught the first puffbird?”

She walks over to my brain and touches me to better connect with my vision, “”

“It is the same one. One of the more devoted delvers in our realm as well. They Challenge the trials, not for sustenance as before, but to become more. Their advancement into a {Light Liger} has shifted their hunting methodologies, and more recently they have been displaying other than ordinary animal cunning. Mercy. Compassion. Their greater prowess has matured into a discernable benevolence, or the appearance of such at least.”

“Hmm. Liger would certainly explain just how chonky he’s gotten, but why the change from Flare to Light? There’s heat in light for sure, but if I recall correctly, it was a flame user before, wasn’t it?”

“Indeed. The pathway from Flare to Light came about as it fully settled here as a resident. It found a home within a specific tree and with all the surplus energy was able to provide their favorite perch some supplementary nutrition with its own power. If you look over here you can see how that tree has grown alongside him. Despite his enhanced bulk, there is still a place to nap within the upper branches.”

Ideas percolate within me as I review old conversations spoken of or kept in the memory of my children. The situation with the Mu’Reign of particular interest and prompt a discussion, “I don’t want to speak too solidly, because the energies still seem far too responsive, but what do you all think of the cat?”

The subtext sent alongside the words remain unspoken but offer more clarity about my question, “{If he’s made it this long, carved out his own patch of paradise, and according to Thing has even developed discernment? I’m fine with the family growing or trying something else to that effect.}”

Cutest has started absently making biscuits with my mind, a strangely soothing sensation while they process their thoughts, “”

Now that I’ve started the conversation and gotten some alternate viewpoints, “Both? Sort of. I mean, there’s already a special tree serving as a base, something that when I look around, I think you all may not have recognized just yet. There’s Life over there which shouldn’t count, but here me out. You’ve got Thing’s here in this clearing, and Cutest is here with that above us. Also, if you look here and here, you see the pattern? As for Gnat, well you’ve said that she just hatched, but I’ve watched how she has been fluttering between various perches and branches, seeking something.”