I felt a small amount of trepidation as I watched Octavia scurry off toward the lower tunnels. She had mentioned needing to "reinforce a few things," and while I could only speculate about the particulars, I was pretty sure that it was going to entail spinning more solid web defenses, just like she had done with the cave entrance at the end of the upper tunnel I now occupied. She had left quickly and urgently, but by now I had known Octavia long enough to have a pretty good read on her: her posture and tone of voice had suggested that she was acting with determination more than fear or concern. That was at least a small reassurance: this wasn't the first time she'd had to react to the underground movement of fire ants after I fumigated their nest. Whatever she was reacting to, it was apparently something she had already dealt with (and successfully weathered) several days ago, without the opportunity to prepare. There was no need for me to panic. …yet.

Still, it was more than a little disconcerting to know that it was necessary to "reinforce" anything. It implied that there was at least some possibility of her defenses being breached. Up until now, I hadn't given much thought to how Octavia's home might be networked with other parts of what she had referred to as "the underground." Suddenly, the massive amounts of webbing that covered the cave tunnels — to the point where the webbing that covered the chasm could halt the fall of a baby dragon — made a lot more sense. It wasn't excessive; it was healthy caution.

I waited a few more minutes, and Octavia didn't emerge. I had understood why she had moved swiftly and urgently — I had retreated from the fire ant nest after dropping my breath attacks with a similar sense of urgency, simply as a preventative measure — but I had wished she had given me just a little bit more information before she had left. Would I be waiting minutes, or hours? The fact that any communication with Octavia was a long and laborious process was more than an inconvenience; it was a potential hazard. It really was a handy thing to be able to say "before you go, one quick question…" Now, I was left with the question of what I should do with myself in her absene. Was there anything I could do to help? She was probably right to leave me behind: there were probably lots of ways for me to get in the way, and none of my abilities were any good at reinforcing structures. The one thing that I could do was take responsibility for guarding the tunnel I currently occupied, just in case the ants decided to strike from the surface. And while I didn't have any building materials to prepare with, I did have a few resources at my disposal.

I had left the fire ant colony in such a hurry that I hadn't even considered what to do with the 4 skill points I had just earned. Now might be the time to finally invest in scales, if close-quarters tunnel combat was going to be at issue. The ants, as relentless as they were, were merely ants: there were some materials that were simply too hard for their bites to penetrate, and if I invested enough points into scales, I might eventually reach the point where their bites couldn't affect me. Now that would be true independence: invulnerability to ants might mean I could finally return to the plateau and sleep there in peace. Not that I minded having Octavia as a roommate, but this was her place, and it might be better if I didn't have to test the limits of her generosity. According to Benjamin Franklin, "guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days." By that measure, I had already overstayed my welcome, and Octavia had even commented on how odorous I was the last time I had entered (though admittedly that had been the direct result of my desire to show her how my [noxious breath] attack worked). I hoped that the knowledge she had gained from that demonstration had been worth the unpleasantness of the odor. (I also hoped that the [1 SP] I had spent during that demonstration wouldn't come back to bite me — I had assumed that I wouldn't be needing any of my attacks for the remainder of the day, but it was fortunate that I wasn't completely tapped. In a context where I lacked a lot of essential information, it was important to leave a margin for safety where I could. More than a few of the past several days had ended with me going to sleep with [0 SP], and it was seldom a pleasant feeling.

I got as near to the cave entrance as I could without disturbing Octavia's webs, looking out just to confirm that there seemed to be no immediate threat there. (Putting my ear to the ground didn't reveal anything, either, though I had never tested to see whether the pitter-patter of ant feet on ground would cause enough of a vibration for the 'ear to the ground' check to actually be meaningful.)

I wandered to the part of the upper tunnel that overlooked the chasm. It was interesting how different the texture of the chasm wall was up here, compared to the lower catacombs. Up here, the texture was rough and jagged, whereas at the lower parts, it had been almost completely smooth. My working theory was that there had once been running water in the lower parts of these networked tunnels, weathering them to the point of complete smoothness, like the stones of a riverbed. If that was the case, then it stood to reason that smoothness correlated with depth.

Then, I had a thought: the walls at the bottom levels of the chasm were too smooth for me to climb, but what about these upper levels? Was it possible for me to traverse the walls of the chasm and potentially make it to other tunnels? It was certainly tempting to try. Not only did the chasm wall at this elevation seem comparable to the plateau wall that I had ample experience in climbing, but I knew from experience that if I fell from this height, Octavia's web below would catch me. Had it been a less urgent time, I would have tried it, but I knew that any plunge would require Octavia to come rescue me, and the last thing she needed right now was a distraction. Plus, if Octavia somehow didn't make it back from whatever she was doing — perish the thought — being ensnared in her web with no one to save me would mean almost certain death.

I waited for what have been at least an hour for Octavia's return, by now getting used to the experience of having to grow comfortable with a low level of anxiety and uncertainty about the future. She finally emerged, a sac of silk in her mouth, which she deposited at my feet.

"I brought some ants back for you! You eat these, right?"

I tapped once. Yes. More than anything, I was glad that Octavia's attitude seemed enthusiastic, rather than concerned.

"There's lots more where that came from. Sorry if you were waiting. I…I may have helped myself to a bit of a meal. It's been awhile since I indulged my inner carnivore." She looked at the ant remains with contempt, baring her fangs. "But if it's them, I don't feel bad about it." She looked up, her expression brightening. "Hey. Was it hard for you to do the thing that you did, attacking the underground ants from up there?"

Two taps. No, not really.

"Do you think you could do it again?"

Yes.

"How soon? Is it like, a once a day thing?"

Yes. Maybe if I rationed my SP better, I could make multiple strikes of that nature in the span of a single day, but for now, one per day seemed best.

"That's great," she said.

I was encouraged by the direction of Octavia's questions. It seemed that, whatever the secondary effects of my fumigation of the ant nest might have been, I had done something that she considered to be a net positive, to the point that it was worth repeating. That was a relief to hear. I was afraid my attack might have had the opposite effect: I was glad that my unprovoked attack (for varying definitions of "unprovoked") hadn't caused problems for Octavia down in the lower catacombs. Whatever it was she had seen down there, she had come back smiling, and come back with freshly-killed ants. I wished I could have asked her for more specifics — the sight of the ants had confirmed something that I had feared, that the ants could make their way through the underground passageways, but they evidently weren't a problem. Octavia had probably found these ants dead, or caught helpless in her webbing. (She'd probably found even more and eaten them herself, based on what she'd said about indulging her carnivorous side.)

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"We make a good team, you and I," she said. "You flush 'em out, I pick up the remains. We'll do it again tomorrow if you're up for it, okay?"

One tap. Yes.

"Hey," said Octavia, pointing to the ant carcass she had brought up. "You seem to have a much bigger appetite than I do, and I've had my fill. Shall I bring up more of these?"

I tapped out a very enthusiastic Yes.

Over the next several hours, Octavia scuttled back and forth between the upper tunnel and the deeper passageways, bringing up more and more ant remains. It seemed to be slow work on her part, but she didn't seem to mind, and by the time the night was at an end and I started feeling sleepy, I had already eaten my way up to [99% satiety]. It seemed like a good note to end on.

——

From sleeping while sheltered, your health has been fully restored. From sleeping while sheltered, your stamina has been fully restored

The next…evening, I awoke to full HP and SP. There were definite perks to sleeping indoors: yesterday, I had considered investing in scales with the goal of eventually becoming impervious to ants, but perhaps I shouldn't be so eager to leave Octavia behind and move back to my old pad. Together, we made a great extermination team (with precious little risk to ourselves). If Octavia's role was to play defense and guard the nest, then the best way for me to compliment her role was to become better at offense. It seemed like whatever gains I got from investing in better breath attacks would compound: better breath attacks meant more ant kills, which meant more exp, which meant more skill points to spend on even better breath attacks…and if I ever hit a point of diminishing returns, I could always shift focus later.

I saw Octavia near the tunnel entrance, poking at her web which covered the entrance, then peeling it down, then putting it back. A moveable barrier -- a "door" of sorts. Having an easier way in-and-out of the cave seemed like a good idea, considering what our plans for the day entailed.

She seemed to rise before I did, despite going to sleep later. Apparently, baby dragons needed more sleep than adult spiders. "Ah good, you're up. Are you ready to do, uh, the thing that you did yesterday?"

One tap. Yes.

"Good. You're fully prepared, right? You've gotten all the rest you need? You're completely fighting fit?"

Yes. Yes on all three counts.

"Great," said Octavia. "Knock 'em dead."

With Octavia's assistance, I exited the the cave, and spent a few minutes surveilling the surroundings. I quickly realized that the part I had taken for granted was finding an ant to follow: I might have to do some searching.

After several minutes of scoping out the territory, I felt confident enough that the status quo hadn't changed enough to require any changes to the plan I had made earlier, which was to double down on my breath attacks. If things went successfully today, I'd end up with more skill points to spend later, anyway. I deposited a level into mouth.

Mouth level increased! Mouth level: 9 Unspent skill points: 3

I felt a twinge of disappointment that no new skills seemed to become available. Admittedly, the difference between 8 and 9 was still meaningful, given that all of my breath attacks scaled with mouth level, but when it came to skills, a difference in kind seemed more exciting than a difference in degree. And if [noxious breath] could lead to [poison breath] (and the temperature-based breath attacks had evolved versions), I was eager to see what came after [paralyzing breath]. I deposited another point into mouth.

Mouth level increased! Mouth level: 10. You can now spend skill points to learn level 10 mouth skills. Unspent skill points: 2

New abilities. That was what I had been hoping for.

Level 10 breath attacks: Venom fangs (prerequisite not yet met) Petrifying breath (not yet learned) Speech (prerequisite not yet met)

My breath caught in my throat. Speech. I could learn to speak? Learning to speak required mastering some prerequisite. What skill led to [speech]? As soon as I asked the question, I knew: these level 10 mouth skills were all "evolved" forms of the level 8 mouth skills. [Venom fangs] was obviously what came after [poison fangs]. [Petrifying breath] was already available for me to learn because I had mastered [paralyzing breath]. And that logically meant that the third level 8 mouth skill, [roar], was what became [speech].

I had only two skill points left, but I spent them without hesitation.

Skill acquired: Roar. A loud bellow. Effects may include intimidation or temporary deafness, depending on proximity. Cost: 2 stamina Skill acquired: Speech. The power to speak the world's common tongue. Free action.

I sat in stunned silence, then cautiously opened my mouth, unsure what to say. I felt a knot tighten in my throat, then the tension in my throat faded as I opened my mouth to speak. "Can anyone hear me?"

No one answered the sound of my voice, but that was beside the point. I could hear my voice. And while none of the hyenas and ants that filled this valley were likely to be impressed by my newfound ability, I knew someone who would. I rushed back to the cave.

As I arrived at the entrance, I called out. "Octavia!"

She just looked at me in shock. For a moment, she was silent. "What – who –"

I grinned. At last, the chance for a proper introduction. "Hello, Octavia."

Quest complete: "Say hello." Reward: 1 exp.

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Class: Baby Dragon Level: 9 Progress toward next level: 12% HP: 29/29 SP: 16/16 Satiety: 90% Claws: level 1 Scales: level 2 Mouth: level 10 Wings: level 0 (wingless), max reached for current class Traits: Carnivore, Kin sensitive, Carrion feeder Abilities: Sprinting, Noxious Breath, Poison Breath, Paralyzing Breath, Harden scales Unlearned Abilities (Mouth): Hot Breath, Cold Breath, Poison Fangs, Petrifying Breath Unlearned Abilities (Scales): Abrasion, Camouflage Unavailable Abilities (Prerequisites not yet met): Sweltering breath, Chilling Breath, Venom Fangs Active Quests: None Unspent skill points: 0