Chrysalis

[We hate you!]

[Don’t come back!]

[You’re hurting my feelings! Why don’t you fly over here next to me and say that!]

[Get stuffed!]

[In your dreams, mate!]

[Turn off your lousy magic and THEN talk smack, ey? EYYYY?!]

[Why don’t you come over here and make me? Huh? Need me to go easy on you? Too weak for the real stuff?]

[Get off our island!]

[Yeah! You bleedin’ cheat!]

[Bah! All of you can bite my carapace! Your mums are all classy ladies, but you’re rubbish!]

To a chorus of mentally projected howls and insults, I float down and away from the Wandering Isle. Some of the Magpei follow, unwilling to let us go without getting the last word in. I take note of how they keep their distance from me, though, unwilling to be caught up in the gravity well.

Gweheheheh.

It’s taken a lot of mana to maintain it for this long, but it's been worth it. Looking at the suffering expressions of their faces every time they try to fly up and punch me has been a joy, bringing light to my dark, dark heart.

[Are you still going with them?] the mage, Olivis asks me.

[Of course! As long as they’re willing to serve it up, they’re going to get it back.]

[There will never come a time they are unwilling to serve it up. They’re the Magpei. They’ve been doing this for thousands and thousands of years.]

is why they’re so good at being annoying, I suppose. If there’s a Skill for irritating strangers, they must have it all

see anything wrong with matching their energy. They want to be discourteous, rude and confrontational? Fine! I will

don’t find

[No?]

She looks at me.

her. And

old are you,

why do you

[No reason.]

up my time as a human and my time as an ant… I guess my age would be… what? Sixteen-ish? Less? Honestly, it’s hard to remember how old I was when I died, and it’s difficult to keep track of time as an ant. It’s not like we hang calendars all over the

if you find this

in the clockmaking arts. So… it

gravity well, I get a good look at the Legion fleet. Interestingly, they didn’t seem to bother us all that much while we dealt with the Wandering Isle. From what I know, only a few of them came up, not Morrelia, sadly,

to take pot shots at us, like they did when I was falling, but

my glorious carapace, that would be one thing, but this is just them staring at me like a starving person

more. Mapgei are STILL floating overhead, flinging insults at me, but I think I’ve had my fun. With a flicker of concentration, I allow my focus to

the forbidden one begin to recede, like oil on an ocean falling back from a pristine beach. Ah.

moment that Odin

there are other ants protecting

my babysitters, Odin only groans,

presence at all!] he

and

[Gah! Let me up!]

no? Sit there and think about how not to be weird. When we get back to

I suppose I should give a little thought to the actual purpose of

[So, how was trade?]

interested in your foodstuffs, and we’ve arranged some contracts with several distributors. Tea was

good news, I

put up

me an