The dark fae looked up from her fruit with a truly dishevelled appearance, seemingly confused at my question.

[What about her?] she tilted her head in confusion.

[You said she likes me.] I reminded her.

The dark fae looked thoughtful before smiling cheerfully. [Yes! She does! She likes that you're shiny. And bright!]

[Shiny? Bright?] I was confused.

That sounded very much like a description of something she wanted to eat.

[Yes! You feel very smooth. She said she would like to stroke you all day.]

Hold on…

Did she mean she liked my scales? As in she wanted to keep them.

Oh hell.

But wait…I already knew that. I just hoped she would say something different.

However, when I thought more about it, this was also something I could work with. And I wasn't giving up hope!

Surely that couldn't be all?

[What else did she say?] I urgently asked.

[Well…she said your eyes remind her of a trinket she got from a mortal. She liked it because she could see her face in it.]

Ah…

This line of questioning really wasn't going well.

An alliance with the Nymph wasn't something I'd considered before, because it seemed all she and her spirits wanted to do was keep me, or parts of me for their own narcissistic purposes. And her words just proved this.

No way was I cosying up to such dangerous creatures.

However, the dark fae was different. She was powerful in a very unconscious way that made me think of many devious ways I could 'accidentally' use her.

For example, if I threw her at the colossal ape, I wonder who would win?

Would her dark spheres triumph over its colossal strength? Or would she get smashed to smithereens?

It was certainly worth thinking about.

It would have been a lot better if she could activate her magic by choice, and not just when she was in danger.

I looked at the tiny fae and saw her give up on trying to pull the fruit apart and took a large bite straight from the bunch instead.

Looking at the dumb fae eating mouthful after mouthful of squishy fruit quickly made me feel sad for myself.

Surely I could find better allies, right?

If this brat was someone I had to ally myself with, then I was truly out of options.

«There's nothing wrong with allying yourself with the Nymph.» Sensei interjected. «If anything, they would be easily swayed to be allies with you.»

"Why would you want me to do that?!" I was appalled. "They tried to eat me!"

Sensei sighed. «But they didn't do it , did they? It's because she realised it wasn't a good option, so why hold a grudge about something that didn't happen?»

"That's only because she needed me to complete her task." I retorted.

«And the fascination with your unique appearance is also another reason.» Sensei added nonchalantly.

I was shocked.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. And how insensitive he was being.

"And when the novelty wears off? What then?"

Should I be happy I was 'oh so bright and shiny'?

"Have you forgotten they tagged me? There's still a high chance of them turning me into fertilizer later."

And speaking of the Nymph's kiss, I went over to the dark fae to ask if the leaf circlet had grown.

She scowled at me for interrupting her meal before flying up to stare at my left horn.

And then she grinned, exposing her pointy fangs.

[It's a little bigger now, and much prettier. I hope it gets bigger, so we can both match.]

I watched her do a little twirl in the air to show off her pink leafed dress.

But due to her previous ordeal, it resembled nothing of its former glory.

I smirked. Was I supposed to be impressed?

[Nice try, brat.]

The dark fae huffed before flying off to her fruit.

"Now do you see what I mean?" I scolded Sensei. "They are dangerous. And just because they look better than other monsters, doesn't make them any less vicious."

«I agree. But it does make them more reasonable.» Sensei replied. «If you had fulfilled their request like the Nymph asked, you would be in a better position to convince them to assist you.»

He had a point, but it wasn't adding up – considering he was the one who didn't want me to have any allies.

"This is very unlike you." If he was a human, it would make more sense, but he was not.

Yet I had to ask. "Is it because they are beautiful?"

Sensei scoffed, seemingly offended. «Stop overthinking. I simply believe they would be a better choice to form an alliance with.»

«They trusted you enough to leave their representative in your company.» he continued to make his point. «They wouldn't do that if they didn't trust you to some extent to keep her safe.»

Woah. I never thought of it like that.

I glanced at the dark fae who was eating with relish, already halfway through something that was twice as large as her, and I sighed – she really needed a bath.

Her pink hair was tousled and full of twigs, while her face was painted dirty green, but at least she looked happy.

I'd already forgotten how important she was to the tree spirits, and her childishness and dishevelled appearance didn't make it any better.

Did they even know she was gone?

Despite what Sensei said, I seemed to remember her following me all on her own, but I don't want to think any further on the topic.

I put my mind off the nymphs for now and started to work on other solutions.

I considered adding more of the worm's blood to the cave's entrance to act as a repellent. If it worked with the scorpion creatures, it might work with the apes as well – although I wasn't sure if the colossal one would be put off by a foul scent.

But it was worth a shot, so I instructed Typhon to bring up the stinky worm eggs once more.

And then proceeded to mark the entrance with the slimy fluid, while all the nestlings gagged and scurried away.

Outside the cave, I could see numerous tracks left by the scorpion creatures on their way to the apes hideout, and once again the foul scent had deterred them from coming close.

But seeing the tracks reminded me of their sheer numbers, which made me rethink the arrangements I made for Morgana's eggs.

It no longer seemed wise to discard them. If anything we needed the increase in numbers more than ever.

But ultimately, I couldn't act selfishly for my own interests.

If we survived long enough for them to hatch, I would leave it up to them to decide if they wanted to remain in the cave or not. And if they chose to leave then they would be free to go.

As for the worm eggs. If the creatures hatched and were able to grow to the massive size of the one we killed. The cave would be protected from harm, while the mucus the worms naturally secreted, could act as a barrier to keep all creatures away.

Now I just had to make a big enough cell to keep them contained, and hope nothing backfired.

Once we were done with marking, I informed Typhon of my decision and this time he didn't seem hesitant. He even volunteered to take the worm eggs to the cells below.

Perhaps seeing the scorpion horde had made him change his mind as well.

As Typhon vanished below, a loud howl filled the trees, followed by a series of smaller howls.

It sounded like the wolves were still upset at the sudden invasion of numerous creatures into the area, and I wondered if they would attack the scorpion creatures on my behalf.

«You should be strategic with how you use the other monsters in the vicinity.» Sensei suggested. «Have you ever thought of targeting them? If you defeat their alpha, the pack will be yours.»

The wolves? Really?

«You live so close together. Yet they haven't tried to hunt you or your Pit.» Sensei continued. «Why do you think that is?»

Now that I thought about it, it was true.

They generally minded their business and not a single member of my Pit had reported any attacks either.

How curious.

"So why do you think that is?" I was puzzled.

«Predators generally don't leave a creature alive, unless they are dealing with an even bigger threat, that they can't afford to be distracted by secondary prey. You can use this to your advantage and attack them first.»

Oh.

In other words, I wasn't a major threat to the alpha, so I was left alone?

Wow. That hurt my feelings.

I still couldn't forget the danger I felt when I encountered the alpha as a hatchling.

Was that really something I could handle now?

According to Sensei, if he attacked me, he risked upsetting the balance between himself and his other enemy by making himself weak. Which was why he didn't, because he felt he wouldn't come out unscathed.

This already made me feel like I was being observed!

However, I didn't know what he was fighting against, and so if I attacked and he ended up dying. I might take over his pack, but I would then be targeted by the unknown enemy as well.

And would I be able to defeat that enemy as well?

What if I couldn't?

I sighed.

Why was everything so complicated?

I was much better off allying with someone I know and trust.

Like Sylrin!

I've been thinking about bringing him back at a later time, but now, I truly need him here.

Even if he was weaker than me, he was stronger than most of my nestlings and his roar was flammable and toxic, and could be used to defend ourselves!

I had to bring him back.

The more the creatures around me were in conflict, the less I would be disturbed!

Even if I had to raze the forest in flames to get peace, I would gladly do so again.