What Had I Just Done?

I didn't move, and I stopped Messia from pulling me. I needed to at least give Leah one of the points, in case we were attacked again.

"What's wrong?" Messia asked, looking directly into my eyes.

"I-I wanted to give Leah something. The same as I did Riza," I told her with a bit of a stutter after looking away.

After having her kiss me, my hands on her, and the body cleaning, I was starting to get hot. It was the way she looked at me now, it was different than before, and I could almost feel the attraction coming from her.

"Just her?" Messia asked innocently, making me feel guilty.

"No, No, No, I will be giving it to all of you, but only when we are safe! I just thought that it would be good for Leah to have a better chance to defend us this way," I said in a rush, not wanting to make her feel left out, but at the end of my words, Messia lit up with a big smile.

"Excellent! That is very wise of you, and I approve wholly," Messia said with a warm smile that sent the currents of my emotions to frothing.

"Umm, thanks," I said, not sure how to respond with my heart pumping like this.

Let's get this straight, I am not a virgin, but I wasn't overly experienced with women either. On top of that, I have never in my life had a woman look at me the way that she was now.

I shook my head, danger, we were out in the open, and needed to get moving. I squeezed Messia's hand and smiled at her, but then I let go, and walked over to Leah.

"I am going to change you and make you stronger, is this okay?" I asked the big bee woman.

"Hmm? You don't ask me anything, my Queen. You request or order me, but you have no reason to ask. I am your loyal subject," Leah said to me as she pulled back the mask to reveal her smile.

"What is that mask slash head trimmer on your face? Do I have one? Or a pair I guess?" I asked curiously.

I don't think that I wanted to be chopping heads off, but it would be a good defense if I needed it. Sadly for me, Leah shook her head no.

"The queen has no mandibles, but she has no need for them. I and the other workers will protect you!" Leah said, pounding her mostly flat chest.

I was extremely curious to see what changes were going to take place with each of the girls. I wish that we had more time to talk about this, but I would do that when we were safe.

For now, I summoned my System by thinking that I wanted it. The Thing seemed to know when I needed it even if I didn't call it, but I wonder if it had a name?

[System] Activated!

[Hive Points Available] 4.

{Would you like to use this point} Yes/No?

Yes.

{Select a target}

I focused on Leah, and then three choices popped up this time instead of two, and there were different choices than last time.

{Defender} Or {Protector} Or {Bee Brawler}?

Leah was looking at me, waiting very patiently, but I needed a minute to think about this. Bee Brawler was the obvious choice since it was an extra she got from the actual fighting, so maybe this was what was best suited for her?

The other two made more sense though for what I needed, so how was I supposed to pick? I turned back to Messia; I had no other person to turn to ask, and I didn't know if she would even know.

"I am having trouble with making the choice," I said to Messia slowly, feeling a bit embarrassed to ask her, but Messia just smiled warmly at me.

"Go with your gut, I don't know anything about fighting, or I would help you with it. I believe that you will make the right choice; you already seem far more mature with your thinking than you should, so we will trust you," Messia said while coming over, and taking my two right hands in all four of hers.

The same pulse washed through my body, but I ignored it; I was wasting precious time. I chose the option that I thought was right, and Leah flashed with that same bright, yet unblinding light.

I watched as her body began to shrink in, and expand at the same time in different places. Once the light cleared, I was looking at almost a completely different woman, but something was missing.

[Leah] 100% Level 1 achieved.

[Leah][Passive Skill] CLAWS Gained!

My heart dropped into my stomach, and I started to panic. What had I just done?

"Leah… your wings… I am sorry. I don't know why they are gone now but…" I started to try to apologize, but then Leah started to grin, and then did something unexpected.

Leah tipped over backward like a cut tree and thumped on the ground. Then she started to roll around in the dirt.

Had the point made her slower in the head? What was she doing?

"LEAH! Stop that! The girls don't want to lick the dirt off you and there is no guarantee that there will be warm water for a bath!" Messia scolded Leah, and that made her stop and get up quickly with a grin, but then she came over to me.

Leah knelt down in front of me and bowed her head to me.

"Thank you, my queen, I was a poor flyer, and I always felt that the wings just got in my way. Now, I can just flop back, sit in any chair, or even just roll around. So, thank you for this, I am your humble servant and your will is my command!" Leah said resolutely.

Well, that turned out a lot better than I thought it would, and I was happy that this was what she actually wanted. I had been terrified thinking that I had made a great mistake, but it all worked out in the end.

"Okay, let's get going before something else tries to mess with us," I said to the group, but Leah raised one of her hands, and five-centimeter claws grew out of them, and they looked mean.

"I dare them," Leah said with a maniacal grin.