(POV Sylvia)

My little cuddly nest in Elise's room is still there. With a jump, I land in it and make myself comfortable. Outside, my swarm is still busily working away. My first, outdated Hive Complex needs extensive upgrading. However, I stop the production of new Sylv, since I am no longer in acute danger of dying and have promised Elise to talk to her about enlarging my swarm beforehand.

After I have taken care of everything relevant, I fall asleep relaxed. The next morning, when it gets light outside, I am awakened by a surprised exclamation. With sleepy eyes, I look around in my dark pile of blankets and open a small crack for a look outside. I catch sight of Mark, who asks with a surprised expression, "Is that you, Sylvia?!?"

I reply cheerfully, "Yes, it's me. I made it back home!" and then slide the blanket down, so Mark can fully see me. Elise joins him with a grin and adds, "She got in last night. I didn't want to wake you and thought it would be a nice surprise this morning."

Mark looks relieved and pleased to see me again. Apparently, he missed me too, which he confirms by stating, "It's good to have you back. We've been worried about you. How are you? Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine, just a little tired," I reply, squinting my eyes a little, "I still don't understand what you guys think is so great about that glare, though. Isn't the pleasant darkness of the night much better to get up?"

With a smirk, Mark replies, "That's because we humans have trouble seeing in the dark, and it's just the opposite for the Sylv."

I can handle the light conditions in the house. As long as I don't have to go outside while it's bright, everything is fine. I get up and follow them both into the bathroom. On the way there, Elise informs her husband of Karina's presence downstairs on the sofa. He doesn't seem to mind her staying here for a few days. Arriving in the bathroom, Mark looks at me appraisingly and comments, "You could use a bath, you don't smell, but you're not clean either."

Elise begins the necessary preparations and with a friendly smile says, "Come over here, I'll help you get cleaned up." I join her and anxiously watch as Elise uses the Conjure water spell to fill the tub with the necessary water. When the water is about knee-high, she finishes the spell and I climb into the tub. I am barely comfortable with this amount of water. A higher level of filling the tub makes me uncomfortable and Elise knows it.

After I am thoroughly cleaned and dried off, we make our way downstairs. While breakfast is being prepared, I mentally get an overview of my Hive Complex and the swarm within it. More space is still being created underground, but all my Sylv can already find shelter in the Hive Complex.

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

New Primary Hive Complex:

Main production chamber

1 small Digestion Pool

1 small Spawning Grounds

Great rest chamber (Sufficient space for big hive creatures)

Queen's Hall (In construction)

Current Sylv units in production: None

Sylvias Swarm:

The Hive Commander

10 Roach Type Warriors

6 Brawler Type Warriors

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

12 Hunters (Types: 8 Elite, 2 Tank, 2 Search)

14 Workers (Including Spinny, the first drone)

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

The Hive Complex has its old small entrance leading to the Main Production Chamber and a new, much larger entrance leading to the Great Rest Chamber.

The Hive Complex needs to be significantly expanded to adequately supply and house the new size of my swarm. I need another fully developed Digestion Pool, two Nutrient Sacks, and multiple Fungus Farms for nutrition and Spore Cannons for defense. I would also prefer to see two more Spawning Grounds and a Hatchery added along with this. To morph all of these living structures would use up almost all of my Workers. To ensure a good supply afterward, it would be good to create at least as many new workers, preferably even a few more than I currently have.

However, I have to discuss such a procedure with Elise beforehand. It should not be a problem to wait a little longer with my planned extensions to the Hive Complex. While I am still lost in my thoughts, Erik appears and makes big eyes when he sees me. With quick steps he comes up to me and says, "I'm so glad you're back, I've missed you so much."

"I'm glad to see you back too. I'm doing fine. We can play some more after the meal," I reply and begin to enjoy the biomass of breakfast presented to me.

Erik agrees and starts pestering me with questions, "How did you escape the flying beast? How did you find your way back? Why are you so much bigger now than you were before?", after his questions he notices that there is an unknown person in the room and points to Karina: "And who are you?"

I need a moment and Karina takes the opportunity to briefly introduce herself. Mark and Elise also express their curiosity, but much more reservedly. Then I begin to tell them. I tell about how I defeated the bird of prey, how I survived wounded in the depths of the forest and recovered. I tell how I founded a new Hive Complex and sometime later encountered another inactive Hive.

Karina also listens to me attentively, new information for her as well. Then comes the part where I met Karina for the first time. From then on her interest decreases a bit, but for the others it remains exciting. After I have finished reporting how I made it back home, I take the opportunity to talk about my new worries right afterward: "The Sylv escort I arrived with cannot be adequately supplied by the Hive Complex here. I would like to expand it further, if possible even a little bit more than it would be necessary for the supply of the escort. That would mean adding more worker drones as well."

After my last words I turn directly to Elise: "We have agreed that I will discuss any extensions of my Sylv swarm with you beforehand. I haven't initiated anything yet because of that and have limited myself to digging. Is it all right if I proceed as mentioned?"

Elise looks thoughtful and seems to be thinking carefully about what has been said. On the other hand, Mark crosses his arms in front of his chest and takes a dismissive stance, but decides to let his wife speak first. Karina seems worried, which I can't quite figure out. Erik notices the tension and uses the pause to address his mother: "The Sylv are Sylvia's friends and therefore our friends. If there are more Sylv, they need more things. That's all right, isn't it?"

Elise turns to her son first and replies, "It's not fine, it's a little more complicated than it appears." Then, turning to me, she continues, "I agree with your assessment that it makes sense to expand your Hive Complex to a level necessary to supply the new Sylv. If that requires more worker drones, that's fine too, as long as it's within reason. However, I am opposed to an expansion beyond that."

She pauses for a moment to let that sink in. I don't quite understand why she is against further expansion of my Hive Complex beyond the structures necessary for supplies and housing. I assume she will go into more detail on this and agree with a nod for now, while in parallel I forward the appropriate orders to my swarm. Mark seems to agree with his wife's decision and Karina seems a bit calmer to me. Before I can think about it further, Elise begins to explain her decision in a serious tone: "Sylvia, you have to understand that you have to remain inconspicuous in order to stay with us. Most other people would react very negatively to you and your kind. The larger your swarm grows, the more traces it leaves behind. More resources are needed to sustain it, and they have to come from somewhere. The magical presence it is already giving off is enormous, and if it continues to grow, it's only a matter of time before others notice and someone comes looking."

She pauses again to give me time to process. Her arguments make sense and Karina has also told me something like that before. I don't want to start a conflict and there is still so much to learn from Elise and Mark. I would like to stay with them a while longer.

After Elise waits for my reaction, she adds, "We love you very much and you are always welcome here. I hope you understand why we are worried." The warm hug that follows makes me very happy. I now understand how to proceed. I will keep the size of my swarm constant for now and focus on my personal growth. I will learn as much as I can and complete my physical growth phases before looking where to go next.