Following my conversation with Torn, I regard the swarmlings around me with different eyes. Are there others that may be hiding their intelligence? The immediate answer is 'surely'. Old Torn can't be the only one and confirmation soon follows. It's not quite proof, but some of the older and higher ranked ones are paying closer attention to others than I'd normally expect. It's subtle, but now I somewhat know what to look for. There are a number I'm not sure of and some that may just be a little more energetic still. To my chagrin, a lot of them are in the group that didn't like to join my games. I decide against confronting them. My suspicions will have to be confirmation enough that Torn isn't the only one. If they can do it, so can I.

During my investigations an uneasiness had begun to seep into the atmosphere. At first I suspected Harijia was influencing me, but that became unlikely when I saw it in other swarmlings too. Then thought it was me, but it didn't stop when I stopped with my observing.

The tension is growing very slowly and it's probably only due to my close observation that I've noticed it so early. Most of the others are yet unaffected. It's the weaker swarmlings, those lower in rank, who are the first to show the signs. They are unlikely to be the cause, I understand that much. A few low ranks being nervous is nothing new and rather than them affecting the larger group, it is the group which calms them.

However, in their position they are sensitive to the moods of the higher ranks. Similar to how the desire for food spreads every morning, a low key anxiety is affecting them now. It makes me realize I no longer view myself as part of the weakest group, even though I'm physically still at the bottom. No, the weakest are the ones with the fragile minds. They shy away from confrontation, startle at unexpected sounds and never meet your eyes in challenge. This mood is coming from the top, the older and stronger swarmlings.

Over the days, the tension continues to build. One by one everyone is affected. It's not just the swarmlings either, the other demons are also affected. It's harder to notice, since I don't understand them as well, but their postures and the more frequent growls and hisses that sound all around speak volumes. It's especially noticeable in the morning when it is time to feed.

Compared to now, the time when I first got here was playful with flying creatures zooming around and various demons swatting each other about. Now, everyone keeps careful distance, eyeing the other species carefully. Sometimes even eyeing their own species, not all of them getting along as well with their own as swarmlings do. There have been no accidents yet, but I feel it's only a matter of time. The skirmishing is over and a real threat of violence hangs in the air.

The Keepers are aware of the situation and I see them more often than before and more of them too. The only one unaffected is the bear with the spikes. Plodding on unconcerned, he is a beacon of calm though still as moody as before. Maybe a bit less moody as it sometimes allows passengers on its back. It looks like he is another one who is more intelligent than I thought.

The days crawl by. I've stopped my exercises. I can't do them when I don't feel safe. Finally it is my turn in the summon cell again. When it happens, it's an annoying affair. Some humans fighting a monster commanding me to fight by their side. Even as I jump into the fray the one who summoned me is already working on the next one. I am just a tool to throw away. Clearly outmatched I don't last long and soon I'm looking at Harijia once more. I want to ask her if she knows what is going on. Doing so will only reinforce her conviction that I need to be watched, but I judge it to be worth it. True to my expectations, she is not surprised or alarmed by my question.

"Yes, I'm sure you would want to know," she laughs at me with a hiss. "Last time was before you arrived and I'm aware it's an unsettling experience."

It's an annoying thing Harijia has picked up recently. She no longer answers my questions directly. Instead she dances around the answer and teases with hints. She is testing my intelligence and trying to develop it further. For what reason I don't know. I regard her silently, waiting for her to continue.

"Every six months, demons are chosen to advance to the next stage," she explains.

That is some interesting information, but I don't see the connection yet. So I keep looking at her without answering. I can tell she's a little annoyed with my lack of reaction.

"The strongest demons are going away and they're nervous, scared of the unknown." She sighs. "We try to prepare them, but this is the only place they know, or the only place in which they've known safety. I can't blame them, but it's always troublesome when it's affecting everyone else too."

Her explanation gives me more to think. Would I really want to leave here? Yes, I would, but the mood is affecting me enough that I can feel some apprehension now. If they are so afraid of it, maybe I should be too? It's not entirely bad here. At the very least I become determined to find if I can get more use out of here.

A few days later the situation has not improved. If anything it has gotten worse. It's come to the point where one swarmling will snap at another for getting too close. To be fair, that happened before, but the mood has shifted and the claws are turned out now. Some are starting to sleep in different places than the big caves. Only for the feeding are we still somewhat united.

Then, one night I wake up from a noise nearby. Everyone sleeps light and all around me swarmlings are waking up, instantly alert. One, however, is twitching and snarling in its sleep. Behind me swarmlings are slipping outside while the rest of us are settling down in various degrees. I find my spot on the floor. As much as I like hanging from the ceiling, I'm simply to heavy now to do so as I sleep. Suddenly, the sleeping swarmling wakes up and looks around. It howls and I only feel rage and fear in the yelps. By accident I meet its eyes. There is no recognition there, no focus. If I had to say anything, I'd say it is still asleep. The next moment it lunges at me, faster than I can react.

In mere moments it's on me. I manage to dodge a wild swing, but its jaws close on my rear leg. I feel myself lifted up. With a wild shake it tosses me away and off to the side. Before it lets go I feel something snap in that limb. I bounce off another swarmling before landing on the ground. Dragging myself around to face my attacker, it's already unnecessary. Torn and another bigger and older swarmling are pressing the berserk down. Slowly but surely it calms down until its eyes clear and the struggles stop. It's several minutes later when they allow it to stand up again. It shakes itself and visibly cringes, trying to hide from the eyes looking at it from every direction. Slowly everyone goes back to a sleeping spot. Some of the tension is gone, but the mood is still bad.

My leg hurts, but as long as I don't put my weight on it, I'll be fine. Before I can make myself somewhat comfortable, Torn is looming over me.

"See a Keeper," he growls at me. "Get that set."

It's not a suggestion, it's not open to discussion and I do not dare to oppose him. This is the first time the hierarchy of the group is really clear as several older and stronger swarmlings are pacing around, making sure the others stay calm. It will be a long night for them.

For me too, I realize as I hobble towards Harijia's place. The limbs on my back are useless for moving around and with one of my rear limbs out of commission I can only slowly hobble onwards. The pain starts to settle in by now, nagging at me with every step I take, flaring up any time I accidentally use it to keep my balance.

To only a small amount of surprise a Keeper meets me before I'm halfway. I'm sure they're on the lookout for problems. This Keeper is not a normal demon, but a devil that feels to me a bit like a demon. He checks on my leg and pulls on it, making the pain worse for a moment, but when it fades it already feels a bit better. Before I can leave he hisses at me to stay. Using some cloth and a pair of sticks he fixes my leg in place.

"Don't rest your weight on it." he growls at me before leaving.

Alone again I look around. I'm tired and it hurts more than I will admit to anyone. I'm not sure I can make it back to the cave. Slowly climbing up a tree I make myself as comfortable as possible among the branches. It takes some time to fall asleep.

When morning comes I wake up from an itching limb. It's itching from within and without. Testing it carefully I decide I can't use it yet to stand on. I hold back on my desire to rip the cloth and sticks off, though the feeling of something tied to me like that makes my skin crawl. The next challenge is to descend the tree, something I had not considered last night. Careful climbing down as far as I can, I simply let myself drop the last few meters, making sure I land on my uninjured side. I grunt at the impact and the pain which runs through my leg, but upon inspection I'm fairly certain I didn't cause any new damage.

The bell for the food rings, but I head to the central clearing instead. At the moment I'm not hungry, the daily eating was more for enjoyment than necessity, so I'll skip for a few days until my leg heals. At the clearing I meet Harijia. No words are wasted as she quickly inspects my leg. I'm certain she knows what happened in more detail than I do. It isn't long before she speaks.

"The swarmling that went berserk had some bad experiences with its summons. The atmosphere got to him," she explains.

That much I figured out on my own and I tell her so. She just shrugs.

"It'll be over in a few weeks, try to tough it out."

Once again days pass by slowly. Now not just because I don't dare to do anything, but also because I am unable to do anything. My leg is healing fast by normal swarmling standards, or so I'm told, but still slower than I want. My next summon day is coming before it will heal properly, which annoys me even more. The tension in the cavern is also starting to rise again, making me nervous any time I go to sleep. In the end, I choose to sleep in a tree near the cave, rather than in the cave. Injured as I am, I'm feeling too vulnerable right now to trust other demons while I sleep.

The day of the next summon is there. Harijia is clearly uncomfortable about putting me in the cell, which is interesting.

"Normally we'd wait until you're completely fine," she replies when I ask about it, "but it will happen to you whatever we do, so better have it happen here, where I'm close enough to assist."

It makes sense and for a moment I am grateful for her attentiveness. Giving myself a mental poke, most of the feeling goes away. I've learned Harijia can only enhance emotions I already have, or push me in a certain direction if I'm not feeling anything strongly. It's annoying, but it's getting easier to deal with. I'm sure she notices what I'm doing. So far she has not commented on it to me.

It's a few days of no stress and no tension around me. I've never been so happy to be here, away from the rest of the demons, safe in this cell. It sours my mood a bit when I realize those thoughts are all me with no meddling from Harijia at all. Shrugging it off, I lay down for the first truly restful sleep I've enjoyed since the beginning of the current situation.

When the summon comes I recognise it once again slightly before it happens. The sense I receive is Ava, Avebella. It's somewhat re-assuring to feel her presence in my mind again. With a few exceptions it's been my most relaxing experience so far. When I see her my mood once again makes a dip. She's dressed in the same kind of clothes from when she forced me to lose. She stares at me while I stare at her. I can sense part of her attention going through our link and I wonder if that is something I can learn too.

"You're injured," she remarks with a hint of worry in her voice, quickly replaced by humor. "At least I don't have to worry about making you underperform at the training today."

I growl back at her, not finding it worth it to wast words on this. Even I realize it's good timing, I'm not sure I could stomach it yet if I had to appear weak on my own. What is even better, I can now ask her about appearing weak!

Ava taps her shoulder, the sign for me to climb up. I hesitate a moment, but I don't want to walk around with my leg like this. The shoulder is a bit smaller than I remember and my position is a bit awkward.

"You didn't grow as much this time, but you did get heavier. Have you been working out?" Ava grumbles. She turns toward the door where a female in grey who is not Ine opens the door. I stare at her until she looks away.

On the way to wherever this training is, I poke Ava's cheek.

"I have questions, later," I tell her. She answers with a nod.