Chrysalis

Sobbing uncontrollably with joy, the priest raised his one hand towards me and fell to his knees, quite obviously performing some kind of worship. So caught up with emotion was he, that nearby refugees, temporarily taking leave of their senses, were also swept up in the moment and mimicked his action.

Surrounded by villagers giving praise on their knees, my ego begins to stir.

Down, Dark One! You shall not rise here this day! Nor any day!

I take a moment to control my thoughts. Having people worship you is a quick way to let your ego take over. I can’t imagine anything good happens when someone begins to think of themselves as some sort of god when they are in fact, an ant.

I haven’t shown any eternal reaction to all of this kerfuffle, keeping still except for the occasional twitch of the antennae, but there are others who have responded more strongly. The five new martial looking refugees, led by the square jawed female, do not look impressed to see a group of humans on their knees before a monster.

You know what? That reaction is probably spot on.

What sort of people in their right mind would do this sort of thing? If anything, I agree with the five newcomers. These humans are nuts. In some ways, having a human look at my villagers with such shock and dismay is almost a relief. At least there are some normal humans around here!

An angry light in her eyes, the leader pushes forward and grabs Enid by the shoulder, pointing at me and speaking in quick, harsh tones.

What’s all this about then?

I’m not a big fan of her being so rough towards Enid. The old woman has been nothing but helpful to me and to the humans here. She deserves respect.

Enid listens without fear to the words being spat at her before shoving the hand from her shoulder and replying curtly to the woman. Then she turns to me, concentrating on our mental link.

[This person is named Morrelia. She and her group have been fighting surface monsters in this area for weeks. They only recently found us here and to be honest they are quite distrustful of you. They question the villagers loyalty and devotion towards you and your colony. I believe she wants to talk to you to determine if you are using some form of mind control].

...

She thinks I’m mind controlling these people? I didn’t even want them here!

[She seems to be getting a little forceful here Enid. Have they caused any trouble?] I ask.

The older woman shakes her head.

[No. I simply believe they are concerned for the safety of the people here].

I grunt.

you think they’ll be towards you if they think you’re all under some sort of mind control?

having thought

her. But tell her if she gets too handsy with you I’ll be taking that hand with

looking woman beside her Enid quickly

with satisfaction, the fighter steps back from Enid and turns to face me with a sharp glint in her eyes. And a hand resting on her

Yeesh.

they are worth, I ignore the shock and disappointment in the priests’ face as Enid tells him what is happening so I can finish off constructing the bridge,

[What?] I huff, irritated.

slightly at my abrupt rudeness, but

you able to hear me?]

hear you. It’s a frickin’ mind bridge. I didn’t bust my thorax trying to learn this spell so that I couldn’t

bit snippy Anthony. I must be grumpier than I thought. Need to rain it in a

have none of these problems when talking with ants, just

rage seeped through the cracks on that stone face but she held her neutral

creature, my family has slaughtered monsters for generations. If you don’t show the proper respect I’ll add

her sword is getting pretty darn

not planning to back down any

a higher level human than I’ve seen around here, taking my head might be more than

Morrelia sneered.

[You overestimate yourself, monster].

attitude? This is what I get for saving humans. Somewhat irritated, I

I’ve saved, and then protected, for absolutely no gain, and threaten me? Which one of us has issues with manners and respect? As you’ve been only too quick to point out, you are a human who celebrates killing monsters, yet I’m a monster who has saved humans. Is it possible that I’ve done more good

hit a nerve last time I spoke then this time I flat out kicked it. Muscles bulge on her arm as she struggles to restrain herself from pulling out her

the Deep Legion for decades and he is a damn hero.

might have a point

see how you’d

....

[Excuse me?]

...

[I apologise?]

...

You think