The last three days had been uneventful, especially for Kai. They had 4 new members in their hive now, namely Tina, Ember, Caro and Lena. Of the four Ember was the most special because of her orange-red fur. She was also the closest to Kai. The other three acted really formal around her and only opened up when Kai wasn’t near.
The group had let the matter of two story rooms slide for now and focused on building more rooms so they all had a place to sleep in. As a result the hive was now 5 rooms large, 1 storage room, 1 room for the drones and 3 living rooms.
In the time the others had built Kai had taken up on practicing mana control and her hive connection. She was now able to keep the connection open indefinitely, but the flood of information she got always caused her to get a headache after some time. The mana brain definitely needed to sort out important things for her to know in the future.
If the mana control training had been successful on the other hand Kai wasn’t sure. She might have become a bit faster in moving her mana around inside of her body, but if so then her improvement was slower than a snail.
There were only two things that happened Kai would call exciting, funny and maybe even disappointing.
The oldest swarm drone hat reached level two after killing a rabbit sized animal. After checking it with the hive knowledge and mana brain Kai had determined that it had leveled up through killing or to be exact by absorbing the mana of slain foes. She really hoped there were other possible ways of leveling up or her daughters would have to go out and kill things and she wasn’t very fond of that option.
The drone had also fully grown up after the level up. It was the size of a german shepherd now, which was quite large in Kai’s opinion. She didn’t mind though, because the drones were quite cute with their large eyes and not that different from a dog in their behavior.
The second thing that happened was an upgrade by the mana brain. It had decided that the hive’s defense was lacking and invented ‘throwing stones’ to work against that. Now the swarm drones sometimes collected stones and brought them back to the hive. Kai wasn’t sure if she should laugh or cry in response, though she now at least knew that the brain was indeed trying to improve things.
Kai looked at her hive. The mana brain did have a point with their defenses, they had basically none. This was a huge problem and a constant worry for her, because the silk they used to build really stood out and the violet glow wasn’t helping either. She didn’t want to lose anyone to large animals and they were done should the hell moths become interested in them.
Kai sighed. She just wished they didn’t have to constantly worry about a thread and had time to build up. They also needed a reliable supply of wood, but despite the new swarm drones they hadn’t found a different biome yet. They did find useful pieces or plants now and then, but that had only given them enough wood to light up a campfire and let it burn down.
An excited Ember came running towards her, followed closely by Anna. “Mom, I made some clothing for you!”
Ember was carrying a bundle of silk in her arms. Kai tried to hide her worries with a smile. “Really? Show me please.”
Ember's eyes sparkled and she unfolded the cloth. It looked a lot like something ancient Romans would have worn. Toga was the name, Kai remembered. She looked at Ember again. “Will you help me get it on? I’m not sure how to do it myself.”
Ember scurried the last few centimeters near to her. “Sure mom!”
She laid the cloth on Kais tail and lifted her mothers arms up until she stood in a T-pose. “Please hold your arms like that.”
Kai did as she was told and Ember laid the end of the cloth over Kai’s left shoulder. Then she wrapped it diagonal over her back around her hip and back to her shoulder again to secure the first end of the cloth. In the next round she repeated the first half of the first step and then wrapped the cloth around her hips. Then Ember guided it through Kai’s legs, hiding her crotch in the process and secured it by coiling it around the base of Kai’s tail.
Ember took a step back and inspected her work inquisitively. She made an excited hop and rushed away. “It looks awesome mom! I am going to have to make more!”
Kai watched Ember a bit lost until she disappeared between two of the rooms. She turned towards Anna who was waiting patiently a bit away. “What just happened?”
Anna came over and conducted her usual small bow. “The clothing looks good on you my lady.”
Kai waved her away. “Yes, I am sure it does, but what exactly was going on a moment ago?”
Anna looked to the direction Ember disappeared in. “Ember discovered the concept of clothes in the hive knowledge yesterday and since then she has been obsessed with it. I think you just got the first dress that didn’t rip by only moving, my lady.”
Kai looked down at herself, inspecting the toga. “It’s nice that she found something she likes.” It did give her a unique flair.
She looked up at Anna again. “But what do you mean by ripping by just moving?”
Anna looked her into the eyes. “Our silk is very fragile if the layer is too thin. It makes a lot of things impossible such as ladders out of silk or other tools.”
Kai thought about that for a second. “Isn’t silk some kind of fiber? Can’t we weave it to make at least clothes possible?” It might even help with other stuff who knows?
Anna looked at her surprised. “We haven’t tried that out yet and we don’t really have the right tools to do it, but if you want me to I can make Ember work on that.” Again they needed wood to really start this project.
Kai nodded towards Anna. “Yes, please do.”
A heavy silence set in between the two, leaving them to their own thoughts. Kai wondered if most of her future children would be formal towards her and those like Ember were just outliers.
After a few minutes Anna broke the silence. “Is there something on your mind my lady? You smell worried whenever you are alone.”
That others could smell her emotional state was something that Kai had forgotten again. She looked towards the treetop. “Do you think they don’t like me?”
Anna looked at her softly. “I think it’s more like they revere you, mother.”
She put a hand on Kai’s shoulder. “You see all this from a mostly human perspective so you don’t understand what it feels like to talk to the one that has given life to you in the same way we do.”
Her gaze became a bit distant. “I think it is a good thing to treat us as your children, but it is difficult for us to only look at you as our mother.”
Anna turned towards Kai again. “You are so much more, so the other three don’t want to occupy your time. Don’t expect them to treat you the way you want to be treated, it will just make their life more difficult.”
Kai put her hand on top of Anna’s. “Thank you Anna.”
Anna came a bit nearer to her and gave Kai a small hug. “And don’t worry about the moths too much, it will be fine.”
Kai wasn’t too sure about this, but she couldn’t do anything against it for now.
The last three days had been uneventful, especially for Kai. They had 4 new members in their hive now, namely Tina, Ember, Caro and Lena. Of the four Ember was the most special because of her orange-red fur. She was also the closest to Kai. The other three acted really formal around her and only opened up when Kai wasn’t near.
The group had let the matter of two story rooms slide for now and focused on building more rooms so they all had a place to sleep in. As a result the hive was now 5 rooms large, 1 storage room, 1 room for the drones and 3 living rooms.
In the time the others had built Kai had taken up on practicing mana control and her hive connection. She was now able to keep the connection open indefinitely, but the flood of information she got always caused her to get a headache after some time. The mana brain definitely needed to sort out important things for her to know in the future.
If the mana control training had been successful on the other hand Kai wasn’t sure. She might have become a bit faster in moving her mana around inside of her body, but if so then her improvement was slower than a snail.
There were only two things that happened Kai would call exciting, funny and maybe even disappointing.
The oldest swarm drone hat reached level two after killing a rabbit sized animal. After checking it with the hive knowledge and mana brain Kai had determined that it had leveled up through killing or to be exact by absorbing the mana of slain foes. She really hoped there were other possible ways of leveling up or her daughters would have to go out and kill things and she wasn’t very fond of that option.
The drone had also fully grown up after the level up. It was the size of a german shepherd now, which was quite large in Kai’s opinion. She didn’t mind though, because the drones were quite cute with their large eyes and not that different from a dog in their behavior.
The second thing that happened was an upgrade by the mana brain. It had decided that the hive’s defense was lacking and invented ‘throwing stones’ to work against that. Now the swarm drones sometimes collected stones and brought them back to the hive. Kai wasn’t sure if she should laugh or cry in response, though she now at least knew that the brain was indeed trying to improve things.
Kai looked at her hive. The mana brain did have a point with their defenses, they had basically none. This was a huge problem and a constant worry for her, because the silk they used to build really stood out and the violet glow wasn’t helping either. She didn’t want to lose anyone to large animals and they were done should the hell moths become interested in them.
Kai sighed. She just wished they didn’t have to constantly worry about a thread and had time to build up. They also needed a reliable supply of wood, but despite the new swarm drones they hadn’t found a different biome yet. They did find useful pieces or plants now and then, but that had only given them enough wood to light up a campfire and let it burn down.
An excited Ember came running towards her, followed closely by Anna. “Mom, I made some clothing for you!”
Ember was carrying a bundle of silk in her arms. Kai tried to hide her worries with a smile. “Really? Show me please.”
Ember's eyes sparkled and she unfolded the cloth. It looked a lot like something ancient Romans would have worn. Toga was the name, Kai remembered. She looked at Ember again. “Will you help me get it on? I’m not sure how to do it myself.”
Ember scurried the last few centimeters near to her. “Sure mom!”
She laid the cloth on Kais tail and lifted her mothers arms up until she stood in a T-pose. “Please hold your arms like that.”
Kai did as she was told and Ember laid the end of the cloth over Kai’s left shoulder. Then she wrapped it diagonal over her back around her hip and back to her shoulder again to secure the first end of the cloth. In the next round she repeated the first half of the first step and then wrapped the cloth around her hips. Then Ember guided it through Kai’s legs, hiding her crotch in the process and secured it by coiling it around the base of Kai’s tail.
Ember took a step back and inspected her work inquisitively. She made an excited hop and rushed away. “It looks awesome mom! I am going to have to make more!”
Kai watched Ember a bit lost until she disappeared between two of the rooms. She turned towards Anna who was waiting patiently a bit away. “What just happened?”
Anna came over and conducted her usual small bow. “The clothing looks good on you my lady.”
Kai waved her away. “Yes, I am sure it does, but what exactly was going on a moment ago?”
Anna looked to the direction Ember disappeared in. “Ember discovered the concept of clothes in the hive knowledge yesterday and since then she has been obsessed with it. I think you just got the first dress that didn’t rip by only moving, my lady.”
Kai looked down at herself, inspecting the toga. “It’s nice that she found something she likes.” It did give her a unique flair.
She looked up at Anna again. “But what do you mean by ripping by just moving?”
Anna looked her into the eyes. “Our silk is very fragile if the layer is too thin. It makes a lot of things impossible such as ladders out of silk or other tools.”
Kai thought about that for a second. “Isn’t silk some kind of fiber? Can’t we weave it to make at least clothes possible?” It might even help with other stuff who knows?
Anna looked at her surprised. “We haven’t tried that out yet and we don’t really have the right tools to do it, but if you want me to I can make Ember work on that.” Again they needed wood to really start this project.
Kai nodded towards Anna. “Yes, please do.”
A heavy silence set in between the two, leaving them to their own thoughts. Kai wondered if most of her future children would be formal towards her and those like Ember were just outliers.
After a few minutes Anna broke the silence. “Is there something on your mind my lady? You smell worried whenever you are alone.”
That others could smell her emotional state was something that Kai had forgotten again. She looked towards the treetop. “Do you think they don’t like me?”
Anna looked at her softly. “I think it’s more like they revere you, mother.”
She put a hand on Kai’s shoulder. “You see all this from a mostly human perspective so you don’t understand what it feels like to talk to the one that has given life to you in the same way we do.”
Her gaze became a bit distant. “I think it is a good thing to treat us as your children, but it is difficult for us to only look at you as our mother.”
Anna turned towards Kai again. “You are so much more, so the other three don’t want to occupy your time. Don’t expect them to treat you the way you want to be treated, it will just make their life more difficult.”
Kai put her hand on top of Anna’s. “Thank you Anna.”
Anna came a bit nearer to her and gave Kai a small hug. “And don’t worry about the moths too much, it will be fine.”
Kai wasn’t too sure about this, but she couldn’t do anything against it for now.
