Chrysalis

Despite receiving the justice of my mother, I stoically endured her disapproving gaze for as long as I could manage in order to tickle grubs. Their joyful wiggles warmed my heart even as I quailed inside, anticipating another THWACK at any moment. In the end, I could only hold out for ten minutes before I slunk from the chamber, only to find myself in even more sacred territory, the egg laying room!

Victoriant and Antionette look up at me in surprise as I crawl down through a gap in the ceiling.

"Eldest! What are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know me. Just checking in on everyone and seeing how things are going."

"He's avoiding work," the Queen calls out as she enters the chamber after me.

The two younger Queens give each other a brief look.

"The Eldest? Avoiding work? Surely you jest Mother!"

"Such a thing is impossible!"

The two of them laugh together and I hasten to cut Mother off before she can destroy my reputation. What can I use to distract her?!

"Ah! Is that Aphy the aphid Queen I see? She's gotten big!"

It's true, in one corner of the egg laying chamber, a much larger than before aphid Queen is nibbling on some Biomass next to her own little pile of eggs, looking very pleased with herself.

"Yes, she evolved not that long ago," the Queen can't help but rush over to dote on her pet with pats and scritches. "I wasn't sure about bringing her down to this Strata, but in the end I felt a lot more comfortable when she's somewhere I can keep an eye on her. You do like to get up to mischief, don't you Aphy?"

"Chirrup!"

of delight as it leans into the Queen's antenna like

tenders take care of the aphid young as well?" I

Victoriant chips in, "they seem to get the bonus stats from their care just as well as the hatchlings do,

the feeding is going

than that," the Queen tells me warmly, still radiating affection towards her pet,

FOUR!?

when did we own that much

They were all fired up every time they found a new

A thousand?! But why?!

same," Victoriant confirms, "I think

really were

are there, right now?" I ask. "The number can't

moment of reflective silence as the three gathered Queens

know, child, I'm not exactly sure," Mother answers me. "I haven't been keeping count… perhaps the brood tenders

both echo the sentiment, they've no idea. I can get a rough sense of how many are in range of the Vestibule, but I

around the nest, someone must be keeping

longer. I limber up

out, child?" The Queen asks, barely concealed

The work never ends, as well

work? What a terrible thought," she muses before turning back to pat Aphy

the mages and teach them a few things. I need to catch up with the carvers, talk about their plans. Maybe there's some engineering

who's making all these carvings of me as well. And the statues! Enough is enough

find both Bella and Ellie hard at work. It takes a few