Harijia is settling herself comfortably within my field of vision in a very snake-like way. More snake than humanoid, in fact, as her upper body seems more flexible than I had assumed. The stress on my mind is catching up to me and sleep is beckoning me. At the same time I feel energized in a way I've started to associate with returning from a summons.

"Don't bother trying to communicate, I think I know what you want to ask. First, it isn't supposed to hurt like this. The mark those wardens put on you siphons some of the magic of the summon. It gives a mild throbbing at most. The device on the wall takes it and stores it for their use."

"The reason I think it hurt was because you were already recently summoned. You were, weren't you? The two energies were conflicting, focused on the mark. Normally this can't happen, as what remains of the previous summon prevents another from taking a hold on you. It's been known to happen when a natural Beacon, that would be you, is placed in a beacon room like this cell. The wardens who brought you here probably didn't think of mentioning it, they don't often interact with those of us who actually get summoned or manage them, so they didn't know it was important."

"It will glow a little after a summon when it is charged, making it easier to find out who'll be useful to them. As a side effect it will improve your ability to learn languages. Any language spoken around you, including here and in a summon. Usually the magic of a summons ensures you can communicate with at least the summoner, but you'll find it useful to understand others as you grow."

She pauses a moment. I nod to her to continue. Satisfied she still has my attention she speaks once more.

"Right now it is probably painful and stressful for you, but it's worth it. Every time you're summoned your body absorbs some energy to help it grow. Stronger, more durable, faster or smarter. It kind of sucks they're taking some of it from us with that mark, but most of us true demons, instead of demonic beasts, die out in the wild before gaining access to our full potential. Imagine hunting and getting summoned, when you return you give away your hiding place. It can be dangerous."

That I can imagine. The last time was bad and if it had happened outside of the caves of the colony, the backlash of the memory could have gotten me killed. And being summoned helps me grow my body? There is more I want to know though. As if reading my mind, Harijia turns her head all the way around while barely moving her torso, showing her serpi origin. On the back of her head is the same kind of mark as is on mine.

"We're much alike, yes. The others are a bit quiet right now, but there are ten cells here under my care, seven of which are full. Most of us have to sit inside for a while before we get targeted by a summon though. You're not unique or special, just different from the standard of your species." Here she seems to get a visibly excited. "But with so much more possibility! We were born stunted or limited, but we can move beyond! You! You'll be able to make your own wings and fly better than any imp you've ever seen!" She calms down a bit before continuing.

"Your changes are not directed so far, so my first instruction to you as the Keeper of this section is to become aware of what is happening to you when you come back. Doing so will also distract you from whatever happened just before you returned. It won't put you in control of your shaping, but it's a step in that direction. How to gain control is different for everyone, so I can't help there."

"When you recover I'll let you out and into the garden we share with the other blocks. Everyone there is like us, so none of the tribalism you saw in the arrival hall. I'd like you to keep that in mind while you adjust, we're your new Swarm, as strange as we all are. There is food, places to climb, run, swim or rest. Above all, it's safe."

By this time I've partially recovered and a place which is safe, with food and a place to really rest sounds unbelievable to me. Harijia notices my scepticism and hisses a laugh.

"We're their precious resource, so we're well provided for. As you grow up you'll join some of the hunting bands or other excursions. First to learn, then to help. Us demons are strong, will ever get stronger and they're more than ready to use us. After we become strong enough we are released from here where they hold us and are allowed to walk among them. Maybe not as equals, but still free!" She looks at me for a moment. "The main criteria for that is the ability to communicate and losing much of your more violent instincts, so you still have a long way to go."

She sighs. "It's gonna be a lot of work. Good news and bad news. Your body is still here when you're summoned, don't ask me how it works. Even if it felt like days or weeks to you, you're back here the instant after you got summoned. Since you're still here, nothing you eat or drink while summoned has any effect on your body, nor does any physical exercise help, but you can also get crushed to a pulp with no physical effects here, so it evens out."

"Now, climb on and I'll get you out of here. You're in no state to walk, even though it's not far. We'll talk more about what we'll do with you later. If someone asks who your Keeper is, tell them Harijia." She comes closer, turns and presents her back to me. There is a strange contraption of metal reinforced leather loops. I hook my claws into places that seem designed for it, and probably are.

What she's told me makes sense, though I wonder how much is actually true. The part about being crushed sounded like personal experience. It's true enough for now at least. It's a bit hard to wrap my head around keeping something alive instead of killing and eating it, but since that is the situation I'm in it's hard to argue against it. Most of what she said about summons follows what I've guessed on my own, such as being there yet not really there and changes in my body.

I twitch my not-wings on my back, or try to. Little to no response. At least there is a glimmer of hope in all this and some of my worries have been answered. By pulling myself up I can look over Harijia's shoulder. I can indeed see some other creatures in some other cells as she slithers past. There is another serpent, some swarmlings, a spider and something I don't recognize but my memory calls a 'bear'. At least, that's what they mostly look like. All of them would probably have been considered runts, if not deformed, when they were born. By now, they certainly look different.

The 'bear' stands out the most. I'm beginning to learn how to work with this memory and despite not knowing what it is supposed to look like there is a sense of wrongness when I look at certain parts. It has a back full of spikes and a tail which would make an imp proud which certainly are not part of the original. If I think them away, despite having six limbs, I see a broad back and a defenceless rear. If what Harijia said is true and the changes respond to our emotions and desires when we return, this one has had that weakness exploited enough to desire a way to defend himself.

For a moment I wonder why I identify it as a 'he', but somehow it seems right, just like I could identify Harijia as a 'she'.

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Neither of us talks on the way to wherever she will bring me. The language is somewhat similar to how the Swarm 'speaks' and is fairly limited when you can't see the other in eye. It's also not similar, with a much bigger verbal component, though limited to simple syllables. Even I can form most of the sounds and so can Harijia.

When Harijia said it wasn't far, she was speaking the truth. A short corridor without doors and only one intersection leads us to a garden. For a moment I doubt my eyes, but the trees and plants are real even though there is no sunlight. Light comes from things on the ceiling instead. We are in a very large, brightly lit cavern. The walls are untouched and a little stream is going from the top of one wall, down in a little waterfall, off to somewhere I can't see from here. While the trees here feel unnatural, I'm past caring.

Harijia brings me to a large clearing in the centre. There are quite a lot smaller creatures going about, demons like me I assume, but some are fully grown and are moving with purpose. Those look to me like other Keepers. There are also some Talkers standing around, conversing with the Keepers and ignoring the creatures running around. I call them creatures because there are no two the same. There is fur, spikes, extra limbs, longer, shorter, two heads, three heads and all kind of combinations of shapes to be seen. Serpents with wings, spiders with fangs like a swarmling, a spawn of massive size and bulk, almost like a bear and so much more.

The most amazing thing is that no-one is hunting another. Some are chasing each other, but once the chased is caught they reverse roles without dealing grievous damage. Others again are just running, or moving along a path with all kind of strange obstacles, lifting heavy things or just lazing about. We stop a bit past the edge of the clearing.

"Hop off." Harijia says to me, tilting her back to make it easier.

Feeling much better already, I do and land perfectly. Turning back to Harijia I see she has a serious expression.

"These are the rules. They're more lax than in the pen you were in before. Some fighting is allowed, but no serious wounds, broken bones or severing. Up above are those almost like animals, here are the smarter ones. The Devils, the ones that brought you here, consider a bit of competition a good thing. However, everyone here has a good sense of smell, you won't be able to hide if you cross the line."

"If someone bullies you, that is hurt you because it makes them feel better, you're allowed to fight back." A hint of amusement creeps in to her voice here. "Not that anyone is stupid enough to provoke swarmlings here."

I tilt my head in question. That has not been my experience so far. She catches my question and elaborates.

"Swarmlings are the biggest group here. Your kind tends to stick together, much more so than more solitary species like my own." She flicks a hand at me. "And those claws. It's almost impossible for most creatures to get into a fight with one of you, let alone all of them, without getting hurt. Now for the last part, there will be 'night' here. At 'dawn' a bell will ring to start the day. There will be food and I suggest you hurry, the swarm eats first. After that you will come and find me. If you can't, you'll have failed the first and simplest test."

"One more suggestion: Do something. Run, jump, lift something that's heavy for you. Listen to the overseers talk and try to understand them. There are even some puzzle areas to stimulate your thinking. You still have a lot of energy coursing through you. If you're active, it will actively improve your body and mind."

She finishes and falls quiet, then tilts her head in an imitation of me earlier. The message is clear: Do I have any questions? I do, just one. It takes a bit to arrange what I want to say and it feels awkward to speak this way. I'll probably have to practice this after a summoning in the future if that helps me speak better, but I manage to push it out.

"Where I sleep."

Harijia nods. "Anywhere you like really. There are some smaller caves, if you prefer. If someone else wants to use the same spot, figure it out together. Just remember not to seriously hurt one another. Anything else?"

As I indicate negative she slithers off again and I'm left alone. Some of the other creatures glance at me, but none approach. What I sense from those glances is not hostility. At most there is some mild curiosity, but mostly there is indifference. Considering my own situation, I can understand. It's very hard to keep caring much about what is happening around me with all that is going on. Starting with my admittedly low interest in others, right now, I just can't care. 

With a slow trot I move off to where I saw the Talkers. It's probably better if I start calling them Devils now, but to me they'll always be Talkers. There is a small group of smaller demons following them around, which they are skilfully ignoring. I guess I'm not the only one who thought being able to understand them would be useful. A few other of the more agile swarmlings are chasing each other around them while listening. It's fun to watch as they're sometimes more focused on listening than chasing which leads to collisions and missed jumps. When that happens they get the occasional irritated looks, but otherwise no reaction.

As the small group of four runs past on one of their circulations, one looks at me and twitches an ear in invitation. I almost miss it. How did I get so caught up in the conversation? Maybe because they're talking about food, at least I think they are, it's still beyond me to understand the details. It makes me hesitate for a moment, but my body reminds me I've been inactive for too long so I join in. Not long after I run straight into a tree while trying to listen to what the Devils are saying. A catling, not a swarmling, that was the one last in line just before taps me on the back of the head and continues the circuit. I scramble back up and give chase, the Devil and his talking momentarily forgotten.

It's hours later when I'm startled out of my focus. The chasing stopped after a while, all of us tired. The Devils were talking about our food, what we should eat, how much and... something. I'm not perfect, far from it, but I feel it's within my grasp. It makes me realize how much stress it had been not to be able to understand what was going on around me. Being able to understand, even just a little, gives me a feeling of control over this strangeness that seems to be me and my life.

I wonder if this ability carries over to Yellow Hair's world? I don't think she meant to kill me and so far it was my best experience outside of the first few weeks. If what Harijia said is true it may be only days for her when I am summoned again, or years already. 

Now I need to focus, so those thoughts will have to wait. There was a sound and the Devils reacted to it by stopping their conversation and picking up all the things around them. It was a sound between 'ding' and 'dong'. Was this a bell? It stirs up all the other creatures too. Some that were lazing about are starting to become active, while others are heading off slowly to wherever. High above, the lights start to dim slowly. Barely visible at first, it will be a long time before it is actually dark.

The Devils are packing up and all the other listeners are moving away too. I follow my new acquaintances for a clue what is going on. They smell like swarm, even though they don't look like it. At one of the walls they turn around a rock with me right behind. There is a hidden cave here, and a Swarm.

Not really. It's an odd mismatched lot. No queens, no hatchlings, no tenders and all the different shapes. Some are hanging from the ceiling but most are resting on the cave floor, where I join them. I don't think I can spend the night hanging this time. 

There are no questions, no challenges, no hostile looks. They just accept me as a new member of their group. It feels strange inside, as if something is gripping me. I feel happy and sad at the same time, but how do I express that? Never mind. While curling up my tongue checks my body for changes, but nothing stands out. Perhaps a bit more shape on my limbs in the form of muscle.

Movement around me wakes me from my sleep. The Swarm is stirring. There is suppressed excitement in the air, just like there would be if we'd go out for a hunt. Around me some are stretching which looks decidedly strange with some of the limbs present. One has tentacles, solid masses of muscle, and is moving them in different shapes to limber up. Taking the hint I do my own little routine, which is just getting the kinks out of my back. This time when I try to move the little spikes on my back there seems to be a stronger twitch in response.

In the distance is the sound of a 'dong' reverberating through the air. The excitement gains a new tone and direction as all heads turn as one, mine a little later than the others. Nothing needs to be said, it's time to eat. It's time to hunt.