The tapping of Ine's footsteps is echoing through the empty corridors, almost masking the sound of my claws. I can hear more footsteps echoing in the distance, informing me we're not the only ones awake and on the move. We move towards the doors that lead to the hall with the stairs. The women at the doors don't open them for Ine, but she opens them herself. On the other side, two men are present. I'm not sure when those humans open the door and when they don't. Ine catches me looking back and starts to speak when we've nearly crossed the hall. The doors on this side are open.

"They only open the doors for students and faculty, not for servants," she says. "Normally they don't have anyone stationed at night, except here at the Women's Quarters."

It's useful to know, I guess? It's a strange custom to separate males and females, I don't really see a reason for it. As we enter the next corridor, Ine gestures me to move to the side.

"Servants walk on the side of the corridor here, so we don't get in the way." Pointing down at the stone floor she continues. "Blue stone or carpet for students and faculty," she moves her hand to where she is walking, "and grey stone for where the servants should walk." She smiles slightly. "A student trying to ingratiate himself with his betters is often called a grey-foot because they'll walk on the servant space. A servant with ideas above his or her station is said to have blue feet."

I understand she's trying to explain the differences in ranking between humans. It sounds confusing and unclear. Hopefully, I'll get it later.

We pass by a big hall. It may be where I first entered this world, but I'm not certain. There isn't as much open space as I remember with tables and benches taking up the floor. It's here where I first smell something burning. It vaguely stirs a memory of an eating thing Ara took me to once. There is another smell, one I don't know yet. It stings my nose and I sneeze. As we proceed, the very air begins to sting my eyes and I close my secondary eyelids, which provides immediate relief. We pass by the place where the smell of burning food is coming from and go through a door a bit down the corridor. Here, the air even slightly hurts when I breathe!

Further away I can see several females doing something in large wooden tubs, stirring the contents with long wooden poles. Steam is rising from the tubs, but quickly disappears somewhere near the ceiling. Closer by are high, long tables at which females are doing things with clothing. The air is hot and it stings. I'm so distracted by the new situation, it startles me when a female I haven't spotted speaks up from too close to my flank.

"Come to pick up laundry, miss Ine? It's dry, but you'll have to iron and fold it still."

Another female is staring at me. From this distance and in this air I can't smell her, but she looks agitated. I think it's fear and I allow myself a small grin.

"Is that a demon? You brought a demon here?" the female exclaims.

Ine continues walking to a basket near a wall. I'm conscious of the looks I receive, most are not friendly. She takes some clothing things out and puts them on a mostly empty table. A metal thing, which I now see all the females wield or have nearby, is standing there. Sniffing the clothing Ine picked up I try to check if they smell like Ara, but the scent coming off irritates my nose so much I have a sneezing fit.

I hear Ine's voice through my sneezing. "You can stop trying to ward off evil. It seems you'd have more success with detergent if you wanted to get rid of him." Other females laugh.

The talking starts after that, though slower than what I'm used to with humans. Most of it is about me, or rather, about me being a demon. The other females have a rather nice opinion of how dangerous I am, though Ine often tells them they're wrong. I can't really disagree. I can't hear a beating heart from a hundred paces, not yet at least, nor do I like to claw myself through the body of my prey, which they call victims. It is true that I wouldn't wait for my food to die before I start eating. Flesh is best fresh, after all, when there is still a good deal of blood filling the meat. Even that Ine contradicts.

Mindful of the fact that Ara wants me to be less dangerous, I just sit and observe. It's uncomfortable but bearable and the females slowly get used to my presence. The topic shifts from me to demons in general and suddenly I hear something which sounds familiar.

"The whole family was killed by demons, I heard. Only the stable lad survived!" one says.

"I heard it was his young wife that saved him at the cost of her own," another speaks up. Soft murmurs come from the other females at that. A few look at Ine with some expectation.

Ine finishes folding a blue robe before speaking, with the other females waiting silently. "It was the Mirchand family, at their little retreat."

Her statement causes some eyes to go wide while others nod in understanding.

"If the rumors are true, they probably called it upon themselves as a punishment from the gods." All the attention is now on the female that spoke. She acts both defensive and angry when she continues. "The men had odd tastes and the women of the family liked to watch. That's all I'm going to say on that."

The other women continue to pester her, but she refuses to elaborate. After this, the conversation turns to the odd tastes some humans have. I understand the words and what they mean, but I feel like I don't understand the meaning of what these females are talking about. Bored, I wait for Ine to finish with the clothing.

After the clothing place, we go to the food place. Ine is carrying a basket with the clothing with her. I'm glad to be out of the place as my throat was beginning to hurt from the 'detergent' in the air. The air in this room is hot too, but doesn't sting my eyes. There are both males and females working, as well as some young ones. I get the same mix of fear, hostility and a bit of curiosity as in the clothing room. The ones working here are much too busy to talk, but many sneak glances at me whenever they can.

The only ones to stare openly are the young ones. They were cleaning some big metal cauldrons and other things, but pause when I enter. What is interesting is that they do not react like the ones I found earlier. These respond similarly to how the adults around them react. It makes sense. It is how a hatchling learns about what is dangerous too, by following the examples of the older ones.

We don't stay long at this place. Ine grabs two trays and loads some food things on them from a table probably meant for this. After she puts a cover over them she places them on the basket and off we go.

Back at Ara's and Ine's rooms, Ine opens the door to her room. The inside is smaller than the one where Ara sleeps. It's made even smaller by some big chests against one wall. The window is also more narrow. There are two beds, one closet and one desk. On one of the beds, the maid from yesterday is sitting, doing something with her hair. Ine puts the basket on top of a chest and one tray on the desk. The remaining tray she takes to the other bed where she begins to eat.

"You were already asleep when I came back yesterday. Was it a tiring day, Lena?" Ine asks between bites.

The maid I now know as Lena goes to get the other tray and returns to her bed before answering. "It was harder than I thought. Standing the whole time was not too bad, but trying to stay alert and not let my thoughts drift took a lot of energy."

Ine chuckles. "People would never expect the life of a noble to be boring, no matter how often you tell them. Remember your training and do your best. The lady is kind and won't punish you for a momentary lapse like some would. I expect you to take good care of her."

Lena nods. "Where will you be today, if I may ask?"

"I have some errands of my own to run in town, then I'll pay a visit to the townhouse to see if all is ready for the upcoming social season." Ine glances at me. "I'm to take Gal with me to make him familiar with the town and the staff at the house until the summon wears off. Now eat and then off with you! You'll soon have to get breakfast and water to wash for Lady Avebella."

When we're alone again I decide to directly address Ine. If I'm going to accompany her, I might as well talk to her. First something I really want to know. It's been bugging me for a while now. "What is a maid, and what is a servant?"

Ine startles when I talk to her. I can tell she's not quite comfortable with me, but she's trying. In light of that, this morning was very good of her. She is silent for a while before speaking. "Servants are people who work in the house of other people. Depending on the position, a maid is tasked with keeping the house clean or with attending to the master's or mistress' needs. Do you understand?"

At first I don't quite understand, but when I think of the colony of a swarm as a house and the queens as Avebella, it makes some sense if I think of the rest of the swarmlings as servants. It makes me wonder. There was something about the situation in the wash-room that is tugging at my mind. "Is there a difference in rank?"

"That is very perceptive of you!" Ine says. I don't like her tone. I've heard other females use it with their familiars and I feel it lacks respect.

"Personal maids are more respected than the women in the wash-room or in the kitchen, though the headmistress of the laundry rooms and the kitchen chef outrank me again in most situations." She taps her chin in thought. "It's quite hard to explain, really."

"What about the young ones?" I ask her next.

"The drudges?" She seems honestly surprised by my question. "Most students and faculty staff here don't even see the lower servants. They're usually children of the other staff, though the academy employs a fair number of orphans as scullions, drudges and assistants. I think it's a bit sad, but it is how it is, the children of the poor have to work from a young age."

There is a new word, one I've not heard before. "What is an orphan?"

Ine studies me for a moment. "I guess demons don't have the same kind of families as humans? Let's say that an orphan is a child, a young one, that has no caretakers any more to take care of it until it is old enough to take care of itself."

It's a strange thing. If a hatchling loses its swarm, it dies. No other swarm will care for it, this I know. If a colony is too weak to survive, there is no reason to take care of offspring that is not of your colony. You'd only bring weakness to your own colony.

It's already light when Ine takes me outside. Once again I enjoy the breeze, the sunlight and the sounds of life around me. past the doors, Ine heads a bit off to the side to a line of carriages with open tops. I'm not certain, but they do not look very nice. As we approach the first one leaves and I can see several people inside. None of them have the blue clothing I have started to associate with the important people here.

We get into the next carriage, which was still empty. The man at the front does not look happy when he glances at us, mostly at me. A few times people make as if to enter with us, but when they see me they move on to the next carriage. Only one woman climbs in with us, though with some hesitation. Once she is seated, we drive off. The ride is probably uncomfortable for humans as it is very bumpy. The way they are seated means they bounce around all the time. Since I'm standing, I don't have that problem, but it is a bit tiring and my leg starts to hurt more.

The town comes into view. I don't know what to expect, so I take a good look. A stone wall goes around most of the place, but there are several clusters of buildings outside the wall too. The carriage is heading towards an opening in the wall where two humans in armor and with weapons are standing. When we approach, the carriage slows down. At a wave of the guards, we drive inside.

The first thing I notice is the smells. It smells like a lot of humans and everything I've come to associate with humans. There is a hint of the detergent thing, of burning food, of wastes, and more. The number of people I see is also surprising, but what is more surprising is how little attention they pay us. They see the carriage and step aside, but they don't really look at us inside. I know this because the few that really look, see me, and are visibly startled.

The road opens up onto a plaza and we stop behind the carriage that left before us. As I follow Ine out onto the street, I am again surprised at how little attention people are paying us. How do these people survive if they are so dull? Maybe it is just that safe here? Ine stops to give the man on the front of the carriage a round metal disk and I wonder how it would taste. It's been a while since I ate anything more solid than bone, something I'll have to address when back.

A twinge in my leg reminds me of my vulnerability. Strangely enough, I feel less danger here than back at the training field because I know no-one is really paying attention. It's like I'm hiding where everyone can see me, which means the same goes for everyone else. A place full of hidden people.

Ine snaps her fingers to get my attention, the same annoying way Tarvinder does it. It startles me because Ara always just pokes my awareness. Cautiously I test my sense of her and, somehow, I can tell she is also aware of me. It will be interesting to test how much I can communicate to her with this.

"Let's go shopping, Gal." Ine announces.