The grove was almost perfect to be true. And until the moment Storge informed everyone about the human, the entire swarm was determined to settle down here. With a heavy heart, the queen told them about her findings. This led to a split in opinion.

'Is he dangerous?' asked Hailstone, when the first wave of surprise had passed.

'I don't think so,' replied Storge, remembering the details of their encounter. 'If anything, he seemed weak. More like a cub than an adult.'

'You should have killed him,' interrupted Rainstorm, her memories.

But his brother was outraged. 'To kill someone who is a cub? What is wrong with you?'

However, Spot was on Rainstorm's side. The wolves started arguing. Storge glanced at her father. If anything, he had every right to be angry, but Kindhearted was lost in thought. Before the queen could stop the commotion, Iphrita looked out from her treehouse and shouted, "Are you still here?! Leave already, you noisy bunch!"

The wolf ants instantly fell silent, like cubs who had been rebuked by their parents. Storge lifted her head and looked at the scaled woman. 'You didn't warn us that there were humans here.'

Iphrita blinked, her third eye in the middle of her forehead remaining closed.

"You didn't ask. But yes, there are a few houses of outsiders behind the river. Now, shoo! I need peace and quiet." Without waiting for a reply, the woman returned to her home. The bark of the tree grew over what was supposed to be a window and door, sealing Ifrita inside the trunk. The swarm was even more confused now, with information that the human was not alone.

Storge led everyone into the grove, where the debate continued. Her discovery was frightening, but if the humans' number was so small while the land was so good, it would be difficult to leave and continue searching for a better territory. Considering all this, the queen decided to begin building a nest. The aphis cows, which awoke from hibernation due to the smell of trees, turned their scales toward this decision.

Inside the grove, they found a large, old tree of an unfamiliar kind. It looked like an upside-down tree, but instead of a branched crown shaped like a half-moon, it had several thick roots that arched above the ground. Storge marked this tree as the center of their new nest. She liked the idea of enlarging the space of their home using the area above ground, like a hive swarm does. And at the same time, they were more accustomed to digging tunnels in the ground. Roots should become as natural columns, bearing the role of wood that they used to strengthen the walls of their previous nest.

She explained the idea to others and marked the exits for the future home. Kindhearted and Creek corrected the placement of two side exits, but everyone agreed that the back exit should face the direction of the hive. It seemed like a better idea to have an escape route leading towards the friendly swarm, rather than one directed towards Iphrita. When everything was settled, they began working.

Usually, it is the workers' task to dig, but due to their small numbers, it would take a long time. The swarm could not wait to have a proper nest, so no one opposed the idea of helping. They took turns, while some wolves dug, others looked after the aphis cows and searched for food. At sunset, the swarm celebrated their move to a new nest with a song, marking and notifying neighboring swarms that this territory was now their own.

It soon turned out that the presence of humans wasn't the most pressing issue. Indeed, the grove and riverbank were inhabited by familiar species, but most of them were small. There were no flydeers around, so the swarm needed to find a replacement for them. Kindhearted and Clear-Eyed scouted the nearby grasslands. They were successful in their search. The grassland to the north and south of the grove had several herds of horned animals. Smaller in size compared to flydeers, they were faster than wolves. But their numbers were large, and soon enough, the swarm came up with new hunting strategies.

Solving the food problem still required more time, as they had to have diverse kinds and sources to get supplies. But the swarm wasn't in danger of starvation and the nest steadily grew. When the resting rooms were finished and workers began to dig the "kindergarten", the queen noticed Clear-Eyed dejection. Hailstone fell into a metamorphosis slumber as soon as his room was ready. He had been sleepy for the past two days, but he was holding back and diligently worked on his tasks.

Unlike him, Clear-Eyed was robbed of her chance to become anything more than a worker. The sense of guilt led Storge to seek his father's advice. She wondered if other females could bear cubs aside from the queen. But Kindhearted shook his head. It wasn't how his swarm lived, and he didn't know about such cases.

Pondering this, Storge decided to search again. The rain had interrupted her investigation earlier, but she was sure that she smelled something similar to spitting boars. It would be nice to have another, familiar source of food here. There was also the question of security. Alone, the queen went to the river. Iphrita didn't tell her much. Before anything could happen, she needed to see for herself how large the humans' settlement was and if they posed any threat to the swarm.

The smell of the human was already gone. She had to start her search again from scratch. Storge headed west and soon the forest thinned out. The queen reached a slope at the foot of which, on a flatland, was a human settlement. Iphrita was right - there were only six houses and some more storage buildings. Storge could smell less than two dozen inhabitants. It was smaller than the nearby village where they lived before.

Sitting in the bushes, she observed the settlement. A familiar scent she felt before came from one of the buildings. It was surrounded by a fence on one side, and grunting sounds could be heard. 'It looks like humans keep animals similar to spitting boars,' thought the queen, slowly looking around the village. Apart from boars, there were other animals present. Those who caught her interest were running around wagging their tails and barking. They roamed freely around the village sometimes approaching humans and licking their hands. These animals had sharp teeth but were much smaller than wolf ants. This meant that there was no significant threat from them.

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People didn't carry guns around, but there was still a possibility that they had them in their houses. Storge tried to smell it. Even though the village was small, it was still packed with various fragrances and one particular smell overpowered others. Smoke. No matter where they lived, people always kept a fire in their settlements. 'At least it's not as noisy as it was inside the walls.'

Storge rose up when she noticed a familiar human. The young man she had met a few days ago at the riverbank was walking towards the slope. His head was bandaged, hiding a wound on his forehead, but his gait was steady now. One of the barking animals followed him, wagging its bushy tail. Then the animal stopped, looking up at the top of the slope. It smelled the she-wolf and started barking. Storge winced at the sharp sound. The young man stroked the animal's head and said something to him. Reluctantly, the animal returned to one of the houses while the human started climbing the slope.

He didn't have a gun or any other dangerous items, like a stick with a collar. Only a knife was on his belt, and a flat white object was in his hands. Storge's golden eyes were fixed on the human. While she was considering ways to deal with this situation, he reached the top. The young man sat down on the grass facing the village from the height. He took a small branch out of his bag and started moving it on a white flat object. The human was sitting with his back to the bushes, where the queen was hiding. She tried to see what he was doing, but his body was in a way. Driven by curiosity, Storge stepped out of her hiding place.

The rustling sound was quiet, but the man still heard it. He flinched and turned around. A she-wolf was just a few steps away from him. Storge felt how he became tense. Her sudden appearance frightened him. But a moment later he calmed down a little, and the fear faded, giving way to jitteriness.

"I don't have much today, sorry."

Storge squinted her eyes. 'If he means he has no weapon to hurt me, I already know this.' But the young man took a small fruit from his belt bag and threw it lightly to the wolf ant. The queen sniffed the unfamiliar fruit. Something like this round and green did not grow in her native forest. It did not smell of poison, or anything strange. 'Should I pretend to be a silly animal?' Storge bit and chewed on the fruit. It turned out to be crunchy and sour. Her action appeased the human. He let out a long sigh, his nervousness fading. The beast he encountered wasn’t aggressive.

Still sitting, the young man turned fully towards the wolf ant. "There are wolf ants outside the grove, but I haven't seen anyone like you. I wonder if you are lost. I can bring you some snacks, but please don't go to the village. We don't have much, and everyone would be scared."

'Just go away so I can continue my observations,' thought Storge. She lay down on the grass and put her head on her front paws, turning her muzzle away from the human demonstratively. Killing him near his home now could lead to more trouble than leaving him be. 'And Hailstone is right about this - killing someone so young feels wrong. If he were a wolf, he'd be younger than my little brother. After all, Hailstone will soon become a soldier.' The scratching sound of the branch moving against the white object was unfamiliar, but at least it wasn't annoying. 'Then again, I haven't killed a human before. Could I do this if he were an adult?'

Storge sighed and raised her head when the guy's voice made her flinch. "Oh no, don't move yet!"

She froze for a moment, thinking there might be danger nearby. But she felt nothing strange in the air. The she-wolf stood up and looked at the human. He was staring at a white object. "Why is he so obsessed with it? What is it?" The queen approached the young man and looked at what he was holding in his hands. He raised his eyes. The beast was right in front of him; that surprised the human but didn't frighten him.

"Look, it's you," with these words, the man showed a flat item. On its snow-white surface, a black wolf ant lay. Storge stared at it, trying to comprehend the image. It looked like a small reflection in water, yet it was different at the same time. The human took his reaction as disparaging. "Yeah, I guess it looks different... Wait, then, how about this?"

The man took another branch from his bag and moved it towards the wolf's image. The mane turned red after a few strokes. Again, the human raised the flat object and showed it to Storge.

"That's better, right?" he smiled happily when Storge tilted her head. His actions were puzzling. 'Is it magic?' thought the queen, moving her gaze from the human to the object in his hands. At least it didn't seem dangerous. While Storge was thinking over these issues, the human focused on his own.

"Hmm... If you are going to stay in the grove, what should I call you? Wait, I need to introduce myself first. I'm Ferko. Oh! How about Scarlet? Just like your mane."

The guy smiled, obviously happy with the name he had come up with. But Storge was taken aback by his impertinence.

'Who are you to come up with a name for me?' she hissed angrily and jumped at him. Even a weak push that wouldn't hurt another wolf ant was enough to put the young man down on both shoulders. He stared back at the furious beast.

"A...Alright, I get it. You don't like this name," it took him a lot of courage not to look away from her eyes. Storge snorted and let him go.

'Serves you right.' Her anger quelled. She glanced at the human. He slowly rose from the ground and picked up a flat object. He wanted to say something, but the queen didn't give him a chance. Her mood was too ruined to continue the observation. Without looking back, Storge ran deep into the grove.