Chrysalis

Nothing was happening and Vibrant was getting hungry. Since she had snapped at the pink creatures ankle her senior and the creature had been very still, looking at each other for several Torpor worth of time.

The young ant worker could somehow tell that there was something happening though she couldn't say how she knew, or even what it was exactly that she did know. She simply felt that her powerful senior worker and the strange creature were engaged in some kind exchange that she had no way of participating in.

So she was bored.

At first she tried nipping at her senior, her mandibles scratching against the others tough carapace, but there was no reaction. Not to mention that the exercise probably hurt her face more than it hurt the other!

How did this ant get so strong?!

Vibrant had always been able to sense it, even as a larvae, that this individual was different, special. She could feel a powerful vibe from the other, something that made her want to follow and learn.

However, that didn't do much to alleviate the current situation. After deciding that nothing much was going to happen anytime soon, the little ant climbed up onto the seniors back in order to commune with her fellow traveller.

As a creature without any sensory input other than touch, Crinis had no idea what was happening. Everything was still and quiet, there wasn't any movement that she could sense and her master was close by. In her growth stage there wasn't anything else that the little creature could hope for.

Idly, the little monster tugged on the shining thread in her consciousness that connected her to the creature who had created her. A constant sense of distance and position came to her through this thread, alerting her about wherever her master happened to be, as well as the occasional words when she was spoken to.

Crinis felt she could probably talk back, but so far hadn't really felt any urge to. She had been tempted a few times, but eventually decided that she didn't have anything that important to say. At this stage of her life it only important that eat and grow so that she could become useful.

Suddenly the little monster felt a tugging on one of her tentacles!

body and lashed out with them. At her present stage of growth,

this response. She'd worked out long ago that her blobby associate couldn't recognise what was going on, so the worker continued to extend her leg to prod at her

The human concept of friendship wouldn't apply to monsters, they simply didn't think that way, but comfort or companionship, these were things that they were fully capable of feeling towards a monster

was annoying her and internally sighed. This pesky creature had interacted with Crinis before. The blob knew from experience that this irritating creature wouldn't leave her alone until she gave in. Crinis had no idea

insistent prodding Vibrant was rewarded when the little blob reached out with its tentacles and gradually dragged itself onto her

Oof!

about mutation. She had frequently heard a 'voice' speaking to her when eating and she roughly grasped the idea of Biomass and spending it. Her instincts prompted her to spend her

to spend

in talking to the senior and asking questions. It probably wouldn't be long until she went

the duo set off! Scrabbling up the internal shaft

all the blob monster had no concept of where they were. She was comforted however by the faint awareness of the

to the link between herself and her master but much weaker, she was able to faintly sense the other monster who shared the same kind of existence her. Right now that

the one inside their chamber. The smaller, pinkish creature looked extremely uncomfortable being crushed by the much larger monster but Vibrant didn't have

Take that!

swiped at her with the hand, knocking her back, causing her to snap her mandibles angrily. The giant monster reached down with one hand and knocks the creature lying beneath it with one fist, causing it to grunt in

bounced back and forth a few times, still clacking her mandibles and waving her antennae aggressively! This creature needs to learn its

by all the sudden movement and had to reach out with a few more

distracted at the same time

Where was it?!

of food through her skin. She extended a few tentacles and wiggled them furiously in the air, trying to