(POV Sylvia)

I wake up the next morning, the swarm consciousness has been watching over me in the meantime. I could not resist the temptation to sleep together with Karina, she reminded me of home. I must return to Elise as soon as possible, but I should not become reckless either. Karina is living proof of how dangerous it is in this part of the Everglade Forest. I enjoy Karina's warm embrace a little longer and make this known.

(POV Karina)

I am awakened by a soft purr and notice that Sylvia is still cradled in my arms. She seems to have woken up before me and seems very content. I gently stroke her head, she has soft hair that is a bit dirty towards the ends. I am not bothered by it and am pleased by the contented purring that comes from her in response. In this way we both lie there for a few minutes without talking. This gives me time to think in peace and I begin to wonder where the other people are that Sylvia mentioned. Shouldn't they be finished gutting the animal by now?

I slowly stand up, whereupon Sylvia looks at me with interest. I turn to her and ask: "You said yesterday that there are others here besides you. I would like to meet them. Is that all right?"

In response, she begins to fidget restlessly and move her antennae around nervously. This seems to be a problematic subject. Then Sylvia replies, "We can meet the others later, but not yet." I decide not to inquire further for now, not wanting to put too much pressure on Sylvia. Instead, I say, "Okay, then how about eating something?" and point to the food dispenser. Pleased with the change of subject, she agrees and tells me that the food mush inside the compartment should contain the processed biomass of the big lizard by now. I notice only a slight difference in taste, it tastes a bit tarter, but without the hint I probably wouldn't have noticed it. I eat slowly and only until I'm no longer hungry. I want to remain cautious in case I don't tolerate something well. Sylvia, on the other hand, eats with great appetite, the afterflow of new food mush barely keeping up. After we both had breakfast, we both turn one after the other to the private opportunity to use the improvised toilet.

(POV Sylvia)

The processed biomass from the lizard was great! It is quite convenient to have new genetic material piped directly to my chamber. I was able to extract another Strain that can significantly improve the claws of my creatures. I call it Razor Claws, because it significantly improves the sharpness of the claws without reducing their durability. I'm creating a new Elite Hunter blueprint with this new Strain, which will consist of the Rapid Regeneration, Razor Claws, Improved Strength, Reinforced Hide, Heat Vision and Pheromone Glands Strains. I will also need two more specialized Hunter types.

The next type I call the Search Hunter, which will be specialized to find the prey for a group of other Hunters. The Search Hunter has the Strains Improved Vision, Improved Sense of Smell, Heat Vision and Pheromone Glands.

Lastly, I create the Tank Hunter, which has the Rapid Regeneration, Full Body Chitin Armor, Improved Hardened Carapace, Poisonous Flesh and Pheromone Glands Strains. I plan to organize these three hunter types into small hunting teams. A team will consist of one Search Hunter, one Tank Hunter, and four Elite Hunters. My idea is that the Search Hunter will find targets, the Tank Hunter will take damage, and the four Elite Hunters will kill the prey. The Pheromone Glands that all new Hunters will have will allow them to act efficiently and independently outside the control range of the Swarm Consciousness. This also eliminates the weakness of interference of communication or if the swarm is overloaded with other tasks.

The short time for the toilet break allows me to lay my new worker drone eggs unattended, by now there are four in each interval. Afterwards I go back to Karina in the Queen's Hall and sit down in a relaxed position opposite of her. It's a good thing she didn't inquire further about what the other Sylv were all about. She would certainly not react well to the fact that I am the only humanoid Sylv in this Hive Complex. While I am lost in thought, Karina addresses me, "What are the Sylv anyway, and why do you call yourself a Sylv Queen?"

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A very delicate subject as I know by now. Karina seems to notice that I'm not entirely comfortable with the topic and waits patiently. After a few seconds I answer cautiously: "We Sylv are a species that can take many different forms. We live here together in this underground Hive Complex because we don't like the bright light of the day. We are active at night and have a strong cohesion among ourselves. I am a Sylv Queen with a humanoid form. I don't want to go into more detail about my function as a Queen."

Karina takes a moment to process the information and then follows up by asking, "Are you the only Sylv Queen here and approximately how big is this Hive Complex?"

I answer thoughtfully, "I am the only Sylv Queen here. As I mentioned yesterday, I have been brought here by unfortunate circumstances. This Hive Complex is quite small and has only a few other chambers besides this one for growing, processing and storing food."

I can tell Karina wants to ask more questions, but before she gets to that, I continue speaking, "I have important matters to attend to at the Hive Complex. I will be back periodically and will be happy to answer any further questions. In the meantime, feel free to rest here. I'd appreciate it if you didn't enter other compartments of the Hive Complex in my absence." Karina confirms, whereupon I leave the Queen's Hall again. I leave the door open so as not to give the impression that I am locking her in. The corridor leading upstairs is still somewhat illuminated by the light from the chamber, but it does not reach the large cavity into which it opens and in which the core structures of the Hive Complex are located. I instruct a drone with the Ceiling Runner Strain to watch the corridor in order to be warned in case my guest does want to go exploring anyway. I'm no expert on human behavior, but from my perspective it makes no sense to leave the safety of Queen's Hall, especially since Karina can't survive out in the woods on her own.

I didn't plan to leave Queen's Hall as quickly as I did, but I had to escape the questions somehow. I need more time to slowly get my guest used to all the things and to build up my forces to the point where we can make our way out of the depths of the forest. At least this will give me the opportunity to try out my other new skills. After equipping the still evolving Hunters in the Spawning Grounds with my new Strain profile, I turn my attention to my own body. With the last growth phase, I have developed the ability to incorporate up to four strains into my genetic profile. I mentally open the genetic blueprint for my own body and want to start incorporating the first Strains, when I come to a horrible realization ...

(POV Karina)

I still see how Sylvia disappears in the dark corridor. Does she really think I'll just sit here until she comes back? She can't be that naive or can she? Ill test it by trying to leave the room. The door remains open and I can enter the corridor unhindered. I can't see anyone keeping watch out here either. I return to the chamber for the time being and calmly think about my current situation. I could try to explore the Hive Complex against my host's wishes, but with the light conditions outside this chamber, that would prove very difficult. I probably wouldn't get very far before one of the other Sylv picked me up and brought me back here. So that would primarily just upset Sylvia, which I can't really afford to do in my situation. She has also promised to stop by regularly and answer any further questions. So I decide to remain patient and instead examine the chamber a little more closely. I am quite unsuccessful with this and already want to sit back down on the floor when suddenly a mental scream in my head throws me disoriented to the floor.

When I am halfway sane again a few seconds later, a blast of sad and disbelieving emotions is thrown at me. It seems to be mental magic, a telepathic connection, if I am not mistaken. However, what came first seemed more like a mental attack to me, I am still slightly dazed. What I get via the telepathic connection sends me a clear signal that something is very wrong. I try to calm the other side via the connection and slowly the strong emotions subside. Then comes a clear message over the connection: "Thank you Karina!", before it breaks off as if it had never existed in the first place. Stunned, I whisper with sudden realization, "That was Sylvia! What happened?!?"