Chapter 120

After warning me of the "unknown" predator in the nearby jungles, Redael returned to his quarters and I took that as my dismissal. I still fought to restrain myself from turning and throwing myself at him, but I was able to stop myself for now, knowing that it was just a question of time. Soon I would ascend to become the absolute leader of the swarm. Until then, I would remain where I was, gathering my strength. 

I began to walk in the direction that the rest of the pack had gone several minutes before, but wasn't sure where I was going. There had never been any reason for me to go in this direction, and I was wholly unfamiliar with the paths I tread. For the first time, I wondered how, other than continuous passage, the swarm figured out where everything was. According to my [Quest], there were at least 1000 individual members of the swarm, and with how much space each pack needed to be able to feed themselves, and how large our ranges were, I couldn't begin to understand how large our swarm's territory must be. 

Without any directions, I wandered in what I assumed to be more or less the direction of the pack. I couldn't begin to know if I was going in the right direction, but even if I ended up in the wrong spot, I would be fine–there weren't any random keelish that could pose a threat to me, and I could protect myself from any other threats that might appear. Thus, I poked my head into various dens, looking to see what the state of those within seemed to be. Morning was approaching, so most keelish should be in the den and prepared to rest, and my impromptu visits confirmed as much. 

Most of the keelish I saw were pathetic. Weak. Only marginally more remarkable than the males Shemira had brought to her side while still a hatchling. When I saw them, they immediately cowered before me. Whether that attitude came from [Dominance] or my higher evolutionary level, or something else, I didn't care. My initial thought was to walk through every den I encountered and Dominate every keelish to be found, but I forced myself to think longer term. My pack and I would spend a fair amount of time around here soon, and if I began stirring the rest of the swarm to anger against me so carelessly, I would find myself fighting Redael while the rest of the swarm resented me. 

Instead of bulling over the rest of the swarm, I instead spoke quiet, encouraging words to each pack I saw, and all that with the influence of [Innervating Address]. With my positive interactions but imposing presence, I could feel a sort of reverence coming over those who saw me, and I relished in it. I deserved to be treated as better than them, for I was. As more and more subserviently ducked their heads to me and I continued to use [Innervating Address] to speak to the submissive keelish, I could feel that there was a possible [Skill] to be found here. Something that would fill a different niche to [Innervating Address]. I decided to begin to experiment with that over the next few days in this new area.

Regardless of my [Skill] exploration, though, I realized I had moved miles further than I'd expected. I hadn't thought too deeply about it, since I'd occupied myself with interacting with these lesser packs, but I had traveled through at least a dozen miles of winding tunnels, and I had not yet found the end of them. The swarm had spread much further than I'd ever imagined, though I couldn't really be surprised, once I thought about how much we needed to hunt to survive. I continued to walk towards what I hoped was our destination.

Pulling me from possibly entering another den, though, was sighting Foire further up in a tunnel. As he saw me, Foire began trotting towards me. I only noticed then that he was, perhaps, the only khatif that could move comfortably in the tunnels, as the rest of us were too tall to walk carelessly without risking smashing our heads into a neglected stone or protruding root or random bump. Khatif transitioned to more upright creatures, and we simply weren't made for these cramped tunnels. I hadn't spoken specifically about it with any of the other khatif, but I could see in their eagerness to exit the den, even Sybil, that I was not the only one whose mind had changed on the matter since evolution. 

Foire settled into step at my side as I watched him approach. I nodded at him as I asked, "You were sent to find me?"

His frills flared. "I knew where you were. I know where the den is."

"Then lead the way."

Again, with a flare of his frills, Foire stepped into the lead. Seemingly without thinking about it, he walked with a strange, near jog, and I couldn't figure why, until I continued to walk comfortably. He was speeding himself to ensure I could walk at my usual speed. Internally, I smiled at the consideration, and I continued following Foire.

Before long, we arrived at the small den set aside for the eggs. It was short, shallow, and altogether unremarkable. I'd forgotten how featureless our den had been when we'd hatched, but that time was foggy to my memory now. All I could remember was a mindless hunger and need. My mind had cleared and heighted as I'd grown and evolved, and I didn't regret my time as a peon at the bottom of the hierarchy, but now, I would never again.

I didn't wait to speak with Vefir, who was hunched over and investigating where I assumed the eggs were laid. He sniffed here and there, and then, there and here, looked closely, and I interrupted him. "How many are there?"

He flicked his tail, seeming uncertain as he didn't look at me but tried to respond. "I think maybe seventy? I can't say how many will hatch. There are some over here that definitely won't, but over here…" As Vefir spoke, he subconsciously slipped into muttering to himself as he observed the eggs, or what I assumed to be. I clicked my teeth together, the noise cutting through the ambient noise of my pack observing the den. Vefir pulled himself from his manic examinations and looked me in the eye.

"How long do you think we have before the first hatch?"

Vefir cocked his head before looking down at the eggs once more. Before I could begin to act on the welling frustration, he nodded his head in finality. "A day at most. Keep someone here and ready."

"Great. You're on egg duty for now. We'll see if there's any prey worth hunting here." I let the smile crack my face as I readied myself for the hunt.