Wide awake after that experience I pick myself off the ground. Whatever is happening to me, it is real. I think. Which means I did get torn apart by that cat and yet here I am. I will not consider the cause of my death this time. The summon thing the young yellow haired female mentioned is part of it. No answers will come to me from my spot on the ground or out of thin air, so I put the matter aside for now.

Most notable, all the lethargy I felt is gone. I don't know if it was the cages or just being caged, or the monotone rolling of the days, but it was very unpleasant. In a stark contrast with when I arrived here, I now feel excellent, alert and scared. I was brought here for a reason. They picked me and a few others out of the whole Swarm - the queens knew what they had been looking for. Is it because I'm deformed? I know I was supposed to be an imp, I can feel it, but how can I be one without wings? With these too-strong limbs that are too heavy? At least a wide chest is also good for wing-muscles and good breathing. Anyway. Yes, it must be because I am different.

Maybe they know about the summon too. I briefly consider how likely it is for them to help me and quickly toss the notion away. Even the young at the Swarm only receive enough help so they can learn how to contribute. No-one here will help me unless it's in their own best interest. I also toss the idea of escaping and running away. I don't know where I am, or how I got here. Even if I managed to escape, a lonely fake-imp is vulnerable. 

I don't like feeling scared, weak and vulnerable, but that is all I've been. Everything new I see can kill me, even without trying. Some of the elation coursing through my body dies down. My back still remembers what it felt like to snap and I stretch to get the kinks out, even if there really aren't any. Those other places... They feel real enough. Injuries don't carry over, but my body remembers the pain. I resolve myself to avoid pain as I slowly walk out of the bigger cage we've been put in when I arrived. It's a cage in a cage in a cage.

Behind me on the ground is the small one I was in, in the wagon. It was put in a bigger cage, big enough to call it a room, and opened so we could get out. The room has an opening too and opens into this hall. I think it's a hall. Just like where I met the yellow haired young female. It's high, several humans high, but much of it is sort of open allowing light to come through. Thanks to that I know it's the time of the red sun setting and the white sun rising for the time they are in the sky together, until the red sun disappears. 

The hall has many things in it. stone slabs, a pool and miniature trees. I try the water but it doesn't have that extra I'm used to from the lake back home. There are swarmlings here and there, mostly lazing around. They are... different. I climb one of the trees. They could be quite normal sized, because once near the top many more trees like it are visible outside the hall through one of the openings that lets light through. Maybe the trees near home are just big? I lie down on a branch strong enough to carry me. It still bends more than I thought. Am I even heavier than I assumed?

For now I look at the sky for a moment. The white sun doesn't irritate me as it used to. I wonder why it did and what changed. Did I change? It wouldn't surprise me any more. Things fly, up high, but I don't think they're imps.

My ears detect sound in the distance, rotating to pinpoint the location. It's something big walking and dragging something and it's heading this way. It doesn't seem to be in a hurry, there is always a difference in the rhythm when something is running. I turn enough to look into the direction of the sound and notice the wall looks different there, because it's a door. The door in her room is to this door what the trees here are to the trees back home - tiny. The steps are getting closer and by their sound I already know that whatever is approaching is bigger than anything I've seen before. Except the trees back home, but I was never in danger of getting killed by them.

I scuttle off to a branch with denser leaves and wait. Movement below draws my attention. Hatches are opening along the walls, pushed from the inside. Different swarmlings are appearing, ones I've never seen before. One thing they have in common, they don't look like normal swarmlings do. Every single swarmling is deformed and there are many different markings and colors. One has scales and six stumpy legs, looking more like a serpi with legs. A second has ridiculously large wings to carry around the frame of a scamp. My eyes linger a while, I may have to do something like it too if I want to fly. I see blue hues of skin, brown, black and dark green as well as the familiar shades of red and many colors and combinations between. 

There are a number of hatches that stay open all the time, the one I came from among them, but no-one comes through those. I think the other new arrivals are still recovering. The stomping and dragging I heard is at the doors now.... No, they are before the doors and doing something? I hear something closing at the same time the smell reaches me. Food, a variety of food, just behind those doors. The swarmlings below are heading in that direction. My ears track the footsteps. They stop and... something starts? In any case, the doors start to open by sliding into the wall. Interesting, but the smell of food has just gotten stronger.

The swarmlings below are posturing and threatening, but I don't see any actual fighting. There are some groups forming and something like a hierarchy shows. As could be expected, groups form by the skin patterns. It's easy to pick out the ones from my swarm, they just stand out to me. There are some large groups below, of twenty or more swarmlings. My own swarm is in the middle, with just above ten. I feel the urge to hop down and join them, but fear wins and I stay to observe.

The door at the far end is now fully open and a huge hulking thing is standing in the opening. It looks like the creatures I saw at the lake but taller and so much wider. The horns are bigger too, both in girth and length and they curve backwards. I'm too far away to see much detail, but it is wearing some brown clothing over the same reddish skin I saw on the other creatures. Behind it I see meat. I can smell the meat from here, the scent wafting around this big space. I use my tongue to remove some drool from my chin.

"You know the rules." The large creature rumbles and steps aside. The groups of spawnlings go in one by one, grab something and move off to a corner of the hall. They go in by whichever group seems the strongest and grab something. It's hard to tell from this distance, but none seem to be taking as much as they can carry and I wonder why. Taking as much as you can while it's available makes the most sense, because you never know when the next meal will be. I've not been truly hungry since hatching, but some things I just know and I wonder why I know.

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All the groups have taken their share and now single swarmlings are heading in. I guess these are not part of any Swarm, or not any more. I don't know what one could do to be expelled from your own Swarm, but it must be what happened. Once these lone swarmlings are heading out with their meals, I climb down and sneak towards the still open door. The big creature is not paying much attention. It is doing... something, I guess? The other swarmlings occasionally glance my way, but don't seem to care. I see in their brief glances the same lack of interest I have for other things than me.

In the space behind the door are still some leftovers. Bits of intestines, small bones and other less desirable parts. I dig in with enthusiasm. What isn't desirable for others smells good to me at the moment! It does taste much, much better than bug, except for when they have those poison glands, but there are none of those here. The big creature interrupts me as it stomps lightly on the ground. It's probably lightly, it could probably stomp much harder. It makes eye contact and before I can look away waves a hand from me to the hall. "Out." it rumbles. No clue what it's saying, but I understand clear enough. Take some food and eat in the hall. That is probably why the stronger groups wouldn't just stay at the food until they've gorged themselves on the bounty, leaving nothing for me. It's what I would have done in their place, if I could.

However, I'm just a tiny thing. It's time to push my luck; moving slowly to gather some good looking bits and pieces I try the 'ask for food' sound again, then quickly glance at the big creature. It doesn't seem affected. Quite the opposite. It's turned its body all the way to me. "Time to get out, now." it grumbles. I'm somewhat used to the sounds now, probably due to the things at the wagons always making noise at one another. This sounds very much like 'don't push your luck', so I don't. with some bones clasped in each of my claws and use one front leg to hold some squishy parts to me. Breathing is a little bit harder since my mouth is completely stuffed full, but my large and perfect nose helps with that. "Cheeky little bugger." I hear behind me.

To be able to hold on to the food, I need a place that isn't as easy to reach. I want to climb a wall or a tree or something, some of the other swarmlings are paying attention to me now I've gotten food. More attention than I like. This is where I realize my problem. It is impossible to climb while holding something with each of my claws. Before figuring out a solution, I chew and swallow what is already in my mouth, then stuff it with the bone I held in a rear claw. One free, two more to go.

In the end I just eat right next to a wall, near an easily climbable place. None of the bigger swarmlings approach me while I eat. They occasionally glance back towards the big creature, so I think I know why. When the creature disappears in the food area and I hear that strange sound again, my time is up. A few of the smaller swarmlings are slowly heading my way. They're still almost twice my size though. I suck out some marrow and stuff the last bits of bone in my mouth before racing up the wall, dropping some left over leftovers. The first to get to my previous spot eats it, glares up at me and walks away again. The others turn away too. I'm relieved I'm not interesting.

Now, on to the next problem. Getting back to the hatch I came from. It's one of the ones standing open, I even know which one, but is it smart to go back there? I'm not comfortable with all the swarmlings here unknown to me, but I do like it better in the hall. It seems not all agree with me, as some of the swarmlings are moving back to their rooms. Still, it's a bit too crowded for my liking and I head back, cautiously crawling along the wall. My ears are twitching this way and that from all the unknown noises and creatures. Unfortunately my nose is a bit useless as all it can currently smell is my recent meal.

Back in the smaller room I notice the other two who shared my cage are still out of it. It's the second thing I notice. The first is two of the normal sized creatures standing over them. Unfortunately, I've been careless and wandered in way too far. Standing still, all my hope is for them to not notice me. There is something important on my mind though. My own thinking is failing me at this point. I need a name for these separate beings and my memory hasn't caught up anything useful. From now on these creatures are 'Talkers' and the big one is a 'Bigger'.

So, two of the Talkers are standing over the two swarmlings who are still mostly unresponsive. Don't know what they're doing, and right now I don't want to know. Claw by claw I crawl backwards to the open hatch. Naturally, before I make it one of them does spot me and makes an excited noise. Just as naturally, I turn and run. 

"Master, the missing one, there it is! I'll get it!"

I feel something hot pass me by and in the hatch opening a wall of fire appears. I've seen the talkers who brought me here use it at night, when I was still paying attention, but there is not much else telling me about it. Before it registers as warm, hot and very hot I'm through. Some of it may be sticking to me as my back feels hotter than usual and I stick out my tongue to check on it. That was a mistake. My tongue actually hurts, though my skin is fine. There is a short sizzle when I withdraw my injured body part back to my mouth. There's still a lot of noise coming from behind me.

"You bloody idiot! You should know by now they're nearly impervious to fire! Before this we had an unmarked swarmling walking around. We could have caught it at the next feeding time! Now we have an unmarked swarmling on fire running around and I'm not going to try and catch it! Go ring the alarm before the whole building burns down again!"

With a quick detour to the pool at the centre of the hall the fire vanishes in a cloud of steam. It wasn't that bad, but I'm pretty sure it would give me away if I tried to hide. I had been worried about parasites getting into skin folds, but for my back I can rest easy. Getting to the other side of the pool takes far too long. I learn that my body may be great at running, jumping and climbing, but swimming is something entirely different. It's faster sinking to the bottom and pushing myself forward and up with my powerful rear legs, breathing again when I break the surface. I miss the acidic water back home. It is good for the skin and gives that clean feeling of all the little creatures drowning or dissolving.

Distracting thoughts got me again and I notice I've slowed down. Checking behind me, there is no pursuit and I let myself relax. A little bit. I'm still out in the middle of a room with strange swarmlings, all of them bigger and stronger than the last and certainly bigger and stronger than me. As relaxed and composed as possible my steps guide me to a nearby tree which I climb until reaching a height where it would be hard for the heavier ones to follow me. At the same time I try to stay under enough cover so as not to be an easy target for anything that flies.

Time to go over things I've learned. Talkers are violent. Biggers are dangerous. Fire is nice on the skin. Most important, my balance is off. It came to me before that my body might be heavier than I'm used to and all the running and climbing confirmed it. The spikes on my back are a tiny bit larger, according to the accurate measurements of my tongue, but my neck won't turn far enough to inspect them. It doesn't account for all the additional weight. It's a mystery that will have to wait.

There are more lighter footsteps nearby. More Talkers are on the way, so something is going to happen. They are also talking, which is why they are called Talkers by me, but it still sounds garbled to me. Hiding in my place in the tree, I prepare to wait, hide and observe.