She was right about the Squirms, they were quite harmless. That didn’t mean they weren’t annoying, however. Lorelei wasn’t disturbed by them in the least, having had to spend some time with them during the war, but the others in her group were clearly disturbed.

Stepping through them, Lorelei did her best not to stomp on any of the thicker tentacles which were strewn all over the floor. It was a feat that no one else could replicate. The Squirms would grope there legs, and try to coil up and reach there thighs, but that was the extent of their creepy affections.

As Lorelei led them from one chamber to another, Konrad had to carry Cassie, who simply refused to set foot on the ground. Mike carried her enormous rifle, and seemed to slip and slide with each step.

They quickly lost whoever, or whatever, was pursuing them, but Lorelei wanted to move as quickly as possible, leading the group to the nearest exit. There would be time to think about what was stalking them through the ruins of the labyrinth, but not right now. Right now, her job was to get everyone to safety.

Well…relative safety…at least.

Lorelei did find it humorous, though, seeing the Wolfkin seethe in the older mans arms. She did her best to resist laughing at the sight.

After thirty minutes of rushing through the nameless corridors, each covered with Squirms, they came to the end of the tunnel. The door leading to the eastward exit was bashed in, exposing a smaller chamber on the other side. Lorelei tried to push the door open herself, but found it resisting her, and she cried out from the sharp pain in her shoulder after trying to move it herself.

“Hey stay back, let us handle this,” Theo reached out, and gently pulled her back. She could feel her body practically melting under his touch.

Lorelei shuffled back, rubbing her shoulder while Theo and Mike stepped up to try and pry open the door. Together They leveraged their braun against the years of rust holding the door in place. After a couple seconds of grunting and exertion, none of which Lorelei would admit to watching without sweat on her brow, the door was forced open.

"What is this?" asked Mike, looking up and around in confusion as the door fell off its hinges. Inside, the ground was flooded, and several crates laid broken on the floor.

One of them caught Konrad’s attention.

Lorelei was more curious about what looked like a giant nest in the corner, rather than the boxes of moldy parchments exposed to the damp air. Inside the nest, there were dozens of tiny cracked eggs.

There was something else...

Something moved from one of the crevasses in the wall near the nest. It had two wide eyes, a long and slender body, and a small tear drop shaped head. The Squirms slick body was an albino white, sparkled with light blue and the occasional spot of purple. It was thinner and so much smaller than the others they had seen so far, and its mouth was more serpentine than the wormlike heads of the larger Squirms.

Lorelei gawked at it, watching it slither from the crack in the wall. The Squirm carefully acknowledged their presence, clearly weighing its options. It didn’t scurry away as Lorelei got on one knee, and slowly leaned forward. Its eyes looked up at her, and there seemed to be a gleam of interest.

"Aww it's so cute." Lorelei knelt down and leaned forward. She was getting excited. "Look at it, it’s such an adorable little female!”

Marci was practically laying on the ground next to her, her body curled up like a resting viper, as she also tried to reach out and attract the small Squirm. “Wait a female? It’s so cute! Come here little gal…”

“You all need to get better pets,” Lucy scoffed.

“How do you know that slimy bugger is a female?” Cassie asked, still hugging onto Konrad’s shoulder as if it were a lifeline.

“Females have eyes,” Lorelei wanted to disregard both Lucy and Cassies comment, but felt she needed to say it for the group. “And they are smaller, with cute little faces.”

Reaching out to earn the Squirms trust, the small creature slithered a bit closer, but barely skimmed past the ruins of its shattered nest. Judging by its size, it was definitely newly hatched, and probably only a few days old.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Theo looked at her inquisitively, but Lorelei couldn't bring herself to leave the small thing behind. "I'm gonna call you Squishy,” she whispered to it apathetically as it finally reached her fingers.

Marci whimpered alongside her. “Come here Little Squishy.”

“You know that’s a wild animal right? Right? Seriously, it’s not gonna…” Theo stopped himself from saying anything further, noticing how she and Marci had fallen completely in love with the small Squirm.

Lorelei scratched underneath the Squirms jaw, and didn’t mind that its body left a little slime coating her finger. After a few seconds it let her hold it in the palm of her hand, it was so small that she could easily carry it in her pocket, if it allowed her.

Konrad coughed quietly and shifted his weight. He had to hold Cassie carefully, as she still refused to set foot on the ground, not as long as there were Squirms within eyesight. “I sincerely hope you’re not saving that for a snack later.”

While it was clearly a jest, Lorelei recoiled in fear, holding the tiny Squirm closer to her chest. “Of course not!”

Konrad chuckled at that. “Good, the females don’t have the best meat anyway. Just keep an eye on it, if you really plan on keeping it.”

As Konrad spoke, Marci kept poking and prodding at Lorelei’s fingers. “Let me see it!”

“Oh, sorry.” Lorelei opened her fingers, and Squishy’s tiny head slipped out, only to then wrap its body around her fingers.

“Hey can someone please carry Cassie while I go through these?” Turning aside, Konrad called out to the guys behind him.

“There just storage crates, probably—” Mike tried to interject, but was swiftly cut off.

“Someone just hold her, I want to check these out.”

Lorelei grimaced. Just what is his deal? She wondered.

Squishy slipped through both her and Marci’s fingers, before slinking up Lorelei’s arm, and resting on her shoulder. It seemed to like the spandex like material of her bodysuit, and it was likely absorbing some of the moisture from her skin through the fabric.

“What are these?” Theo asked Konrad, seeing him go through the cluster of broken crates.

Lorelei looked over to see that everyone was going through thick piles of linen parchments, each looking ancient, and most were damaged from years of neglect. The fact that any of them were still partially intact was nothing short of a small miracle.

Squishy didn’t seem to care about all the loud noises, and bickering, electing instead to curl up around Lorelei’s neck, like some kind of loose choker, and rested its head on the nape of her shoulder.

“I want one…” Marci brooded. She was already searching around the nest for another like it.

“I still can’t believe you’re letting that thing touch you!” Cassie was even closer to freaking out.

“I’m sure there’s another female somewhere in the clutch.” Lorelei said to Marci, while she scowled at Cassies continued outbursts.

“Found one!” Marci scooped up a small blue skinned Squirm that was seemingly hiding in the corner of the nest. Its arrow shaped head was similar to the one wrapped around Lorelei’s neck. Its tiny beady eyes looked confused as the Lamia let it rest on her own shoulder. It didn’t take long for it to coil itself around her neck as well.

“I’m naming you Slinky,” Marci said to the Squirm.

Cassie nearly vomited at seeing two Squirms, albeit small and slender, being worn like living necklaces around both their necks.

Lorelei continued to rub the underside of Squishy’s jaw, as she watched Konrad acting weird among all the time worn paintings that were exposed to the elements. “I think we should keep moving, unless anyone else wants a—”

“Keep those things away from me!” Cassie spat on the floor, to which several Squirms moved quickly to the spittle to absorb it. Seeing so many of them moving near her, made her squeal.

“Then I guess I’ll get started with the door controls,” Lorelei sighed to herself. She carefully walked over to the giant bulkhead at the far end of the wall, the gears holding its chains were still functional, and she quickly got to work on the the operations console. She became so focused on her task that she didn’t even notice her beloved sneaking up behind her.

“Let’s hope the weather isn’t as bad outside,” he groaned.

Lorelei smiled, her mind and body was too exhausted to jerk and crumble underneath his gaze. Even her tail barely moved to coil around his ankle in response. Her brain was taxed, and Lorelei would’ve loved to take an hour to catch some sleep, just one hour, if it were possible.

They were all tired, they should’ve taken a break a long time ago, but being chased through a labyrinth of cold corridors swarming with Squirms had proven enough to keep them running on fumes. Lorelei wasn’t sure if things would get any better outside, but she supposed they didn’t have much choice in the matter. For a three day expedition, things were certainly getting out of hand.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be your shadow,” Lorelei said the words without even realizing it. Her own mind was slipping. Had Theo understood the significance of a Redever woman saying such a thing, he might’ve reacted differently. It was the ultimate sign of adoration, something Redever women reserved for those they truly cared about.

Lorelei wasn’t sure if he grasped the significance of her loose tongued confession. If he had been a Redever he might’ve rubbed his horns against hers, or wrapped his arms around her in recognition. In some seedier Redever societies, the male might even guide her to her knees, so that he could have her facing his manhood in recognition of her devotion, and submission.

Thankfully, Theo wasn’t like that, instead he lightly bumped his shoulder against hers, and watched as she continued working the console. Yet, there was a part of her that would later come to wish that, maybe, he would’ve reacted a little differently.