Daisy quickly made her way to the hallway she had seen the rougely-looking mice before.

There, they waited, looking as surprised as they had the first time. The same one stepped forward, pointing at Daisy. "I didn't expect to see a brood mouse. Let's get them."

Another waved Cedric and Theo aside. "Get lost." They looked at Daisy. "Just sit down and let us take care of you, brood-mouse." The guard smiled and gestured to her. "We won't harm you. We promise."

Daisy inclined her head faintly. "Like a recording. Let's put a pause on that." She held up one hand. "I have questions for you."

A third laughed at her. "Why would we answer you?"

She rolled her eyes. "Because you probably have nothing to lose from it? You want me, and you sure won't get me by being rude."

The three mice looked between each other and the leader stepped forward. "Ask your questions." He gestured at her.

"Why are you, specifically, looking for a brood mouse? What do they mean, to you?" She pointed to each of them as she asked this.

He looked around himself and stepped forward. "We had a brood-mouse among us once. It was the best time of our lives, so we want another."

She tapped her nose in thought. "Huh, I'm literally replacing some unseen brood mouse? Let me guess, she was basically the mother of the group?"

All three of the mice nodded to her.

Daisy laughed and clapped once, the sound sharp in the quiet of the hallway. "Oh! This makes sense now. You lost your mother. You see someone that fits the bill." She turned away from them. "A pity I won't be doing that. You're all stuck in this dungeon, and I don't want to be." She gestured for Cedric and Theo to follow.

The mouse's eyes widened and he held his hand out. "Wait... Don't you want to be the brood mouse we're looking for?"

Daisy peeked over her shoulder. "I already had the chance to rule a dungeon. I don't plan to start now, sorry. Besides, you haven't earned me yet." She turned away as the mouse tried to come after her, only to be stopped by a held up dagger. "Back up. I do know how to use this."

The mouse stopped and shook his head. "But... what if I want something to care about?"

"Sounds like you should have been nicer to the last one, maybe she'd still be here." Daisy rubbed at her cheek. "Why did she leave anyway?"

He stopped, looking back down the hall, but the other two said nothing. "We... were mean. We made her cry, and when she went to her room to cry, we didn't comfort her."

Daisy wagged her finger at the group. "You deserve her leaving then, sounds like. I'm not her, so apologizing to me won't help." She thought to when she first arrived in the world. "I guess I was in the right place." She patted Theo on his shoulder, then Cedric. "Let's get out of here and figure out where we go next."

***

They stepped out of the dungeon, the fresh air a welcome change from the musty air of the dungeon below. Daisy stretched for the sky, working her entire body. "Go out, slay a dragon. Just a happy normal day for us!" She took a moment to share high fives with each of them. "Speaking of that, how common, or rare, are dragons overall?"

Theo held up a hand as he took a moment to think. "Not super common, but they exist." He rubbed at his back, his tail flicking. "If you want to hunt more dragons, we could find some more." He laughed softly. "It's a little out there, but..."

She gently touched Theo's shoulder. "I was more curious how big of a deal that fight was. Sounds like it isn't the stuff of legends on its own." She stepped out of the cave, looking up and down the rocky canyon. "Let's talk about our adventure on the way home."

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Cedric held up his hands in excitement, his tail lashing with it. "We can talk about more adventures on the way there. I'm glad we did this, it was fun." He dug out a small book. "And I feel like I made some real progress in my casting. This is good practice."

Daisy paused to pat Cedric's head gently. "You did great today, both of you. Proud of you boys."

***

Back in town, not that far away, she swatted them both on the back. "You're free to resume your scholarly ways, my erudite boys."

Cedric blinked several times. "Do I know what erudite means?"

Theo slapped his own face with a groan. "She called us educated. Educated in a rude way, by the tone."

Daisy stuck out her tongue. "I'm just playing. You're nerds, but so am I. Go on and do some nerdy things. I can't wait to hear about it later."

Cedric bowed gently. "Thank you, Daisy." Theo waved and they headed towards their room.

Daisy went her own direction, to the office of Doctor Elina. The doctor was busy scribbling notes when Daisy entered. "Elina," sang out Daisy as she skipped towards Elina's desk. "There once was another brood mouse, not far from here. She abandoned her dungeon, and at least a few of the monsters still miss her. They thought I was going to replace her, before the dragon." Daisy watched as the human woman continued to scribble notes without seeming to pay attention to her words, and that made her smile. "So, I got myself some magic bracers." She waved the new bracers at the end of her arms. "Make my healing better."

Elina looked up from her work and nodded once. "You look lovely, though I don't think I care much for your new fashion statement." She reached to tap the bracers with a finger.

Daisy's ears pinkened. "They don't look nice? I'll admit, I have zero fashion sense. Be honest."

Elina stood and took Daisy's wrist to look at the bracers closer. "It is a good look for you, so you can keep it. They just look like they could use a bit more decoration."

"Like?" Daisy didn't fight Elina holding her arm. "I am in your hands, literally at the moment. What do you suggest?" Her tail swayed with obvious curiosity as she leaned in. "I'm all ears."

"I can't believe you just said that." Elina laughed softly and let Daisy's arm go. "You need something else on there, something to draw attention. A symbol, perhaps, or an item to carry with you."

Daisy curled an arm, bringing a bracer into view. "Hm. I'll go shopping later." She tucked her hands behind her back. "Did you hear anything I said about my last trip?"

Elina looked up from her own thoughts. "There was another brood mouse, hm?" She sat, leaning against the desk. "That is very interesting, because you aren't supposed to be able to abandon a dungeon."

"Easily," added Daisy swiftly. "I already abandoned one, and it took a lot of effort and tears. I can only imagine this other brood mouse had a similar experience. Wonder what made her want to leave in the first place."

"Interesting." Elina patted her chin with a finger, looking into space. "I suppose it would be possible, but only if she was driven. You said the monsters miss her?" Elina tapped her own cheek.

"A group of mice that considered her their mother figure, just like my monsters did with me." She tapped a foot on the ground. "Very typical monsters, even by the look." She shrugged and waved her hand. "I didn't get too much from them, they were mostly talking about finding her."

"That is most interesting. And sad." Elina frowned faintly. "Beasts without a mistress never do well." She sat and resumed scribbling busily. "You defeated that dungeon. Speaking of that, which one was it?"

Daisy paused to chew on her lip. "That is the question I wish I could answer." She held her hands out in front of herself. "I know where it is, but not the name. It's not on any map I've seen."

"Silly thing." She prodded Daisy with her quill. "Go report that dungeon at the guild. They'll reward you for reporting new dungeons, you know." Elina smiled softly.

"Really?" Daisy tapped the tip of one ear in thought. "Well, it isn't on my map, so I assume it isn't on theirs. I should go do that." She took a slow breath. "Before I do that, need anything from me? I'm feeling pretty good, and could go another round today if needed."

Elina held up her own hand, then ran it down Daisy's chest. "No, I think we're set for now." She patted Daisy gently, making her jiggle with the light strike. "I have papers to write about what we've discovered so far. Don't worry, I will call when I'm ready, my little wonderful lab mouse."

Daisy perked an ear at that. "Is that a species? Are there lab mice? That would be so cute!"

Elina smiled softly. "Not that I know of." She held up her pen again and then ran it over Daisy's arm, gently tickling the mouse woman. "Though I'm sure you could create them, if you wanted to."

"Don't tempt me." She huffed a sigh at the thought. "Besides, I'd need volunteers. I'm not a monster that'll grab helpless victims and force them into it."

Elina looked Daisy over, eyes narrow. "No, you aren't a monster, I suppose. Go report that dungeon, and stop being naughty." She waved Daisy away with her pen before she turned back to her desk.

"You're the one being naughty, sheesh." She turned with a flick of her tail and marched out of the office. As soon as she was gone from view, she couldn't help but break into a fit of giggles. "Elina is fun." Satisfied, she strolled for the guild directly.