Killerie quietly stared at the corkboard on her wall, green moonlight illuminating everything in chlorophyll tints.

Snugly ensconced in the wrappings of her blankets, she could acutely feel the ripples and tears in the soft flesh beneath her jaw and face, bright spots of stinging pain that made it hurt to move.

The corkboard in question was covered in experiences. The first and last time Madeline had taken Killerie to karaoke, where they learned the speech device couldn’t synthesize singing. When she’d taken Madeline’s phone apart and put it back together. That day she’d taken a few old molts and put them together to make the scariest sculpture her mom had ever seen.

It had been a bit horrifying in hindsight, Killerie thought dully. Now they just threw the molts away.

She wasn’t worried about scarring. She knew how shedlings worked. Anything that didn’t kill them would be fixed the moment they molted. If anything, she’d probably end up more resistant to scalding liquids once she molted.

No, she was more worried about the molt itself.

She sank a little deeper into her nest with a sigh. Her mom had liberally daubed antibiotic cream on the fried flesh, and it was starting to itch. However, if she tried to rub it off with her blankets, then her mom would get worried and she’d have to let a new layer be applied.

In much the same way they had been for the past two hours, Killerie’s thoughts turned to the boy who’d thrown the drinks at her. She couldn’t stop replaying it for some reason. How could it have gone differently? Telekinetically catching the drinks? Jumping out of the way? Asking for help before he could get closer?

It was with a sudden spike of realization and fear that she realized her carapace was itching.

Tossing the blankets off, she stared down at her end segments. Her tails had already fused along her underside, and a porous gray film was rising out of her plates, seeping together and hardening. An unconscious reflex pulled her rearmost pair of legs inward, and they were sealed under the forming cocoon.

"MOM!" Killlerie shrieked, dragging herself out of her nest. Her paralyzed section spread more, expanding further up Killerie's back and trapping another pair of legs.

Madeline was in the room in an instant, cradling Killerie's head in her hands with an urgent worry in her eyes. "I'm here!"

Another segment was trapped, and Killerie's breathing picked up a notch. "M-Mom, I don't want- I don't-"

Her mother sat down cross-legged and pulled Killerie's head into her lap as another section was covered in the cocoon. "I'm so sorry, bean. You're - you're going to be okay. I promise."

Three sections were frozen, the chrysalis accelerating as it grew. Almost half of Killerie's body was immobile, but everything she could move jerked uncontrollably as her muscles tensed, senseless terror loading her nervous system with aimless adrenaline.

Killerie almost couldn't think straight. All she could see was herself, paralyzed in an empty room forever, and she pushed closer. "Mom. M-Mom…"

Madeline closed her eyes, hugging Killerie close to her heart as another two segments were trapped. "I'm here, cocoa bean. I'm right here."

In a burst of speed, the chrysalis expanded upward, trapping Killerie's final pair of legs and ending her movements entirely. Killerie could only stare up at her mom's face as her breathing slowed and her antennae bent backward, unable to resist the simple act of molting. Her jaw was forced shut along with her eyes, and Killerie gratefully passed out.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

She was trapped again.

Killerie's mandibles flexed in a single powerful motion, tearing the already decaying cocoon on her face. She sucked a desperate breath in, incomparable relief flooding her system at the taste of fresh air.

Her mom was there the moment the chrysalis was breached, pulling gray material away from Killerie's head. She opened her eyes as fast as she could, blinking in the sudden light. Orange light streamed through her window, gilting everything in gold.

Killerie groaned as she dragged herself forward, Madeline stepping out of the way as she sloughed out of the molt she'd left behind. Her legs were freed two by two until she finally slumped on the plush carpet, with the burns mended and a faint crimson hue mixed into the blue-green of her natural chitin.

She balefully glared at the hollow husk of a shedling behind her. Everything from the nicks in her plates to the silhouette of the telepathy caps was perfectly replicated in chrysalis imitation, although it'd deflated without her inside it.

Madeline pulled Killerie into an awkward hug, planting a kiss on the top of her head. She didn't say anything. She was just there, ready for when Killerie needed her, just the same as she'd been there for Killerie's whole life.

Killerie pulled her body inward, curling into a ball and resting a good chunk of herself in her mom's lap. Madeline grunted at the weight, but didn't ask her to move.

The light beaming through the window dulled to a smoky brown, fading into gray and then green. The sun set on a day Killerie had entirely missed.

Finally, Killerie mumbled, "You can go if you want to."

"Only if you want me to, bean."

Killerie didn't reply, stuck between wanting to be alone and feeling guilty about asking her mom to leave.

Without saying a word, Madeline gave her a final tight hug and pulled Killerie's thickest blanket over, covering her plates and resting it behind Killerie's antennae. Scooting backwards, she rubbed the softer chitin above her eyes and whispered, "Get some sleep, okay?"

Killerie nodded, and her mom left the room, turning the lights on a low setting before closing the door.

Killerie didn't go to sleep.

The discarded molt stared at her, bringing complicated, unnamed feelings to the surface of Killerie's thoughts.

Why was she so bad at being a shedling? Molting was supposed to be an effortless, painless part of life for shedlings. From what little information they put out about themselves, it was downright pleasant. For them, molting was an improvement. An upgrade to counter previous injuries. She knew that was the case for herself, and she knew that hot chocolate wouldn't burn her anymore.

But the moment she lost feeling in her limbs, the involuntary loss of control as her legs curled up, her eyes closed and her antennae lay flat. That feeling of being forced to go to sleep, without any chance of stopping it…

It terrified her, and she didn't know why. According to Madeline that would be a normal reaction for a human, but Killerie wasn't a human! She was just… Killerie.

She didn’t really know who that was, if she was being honest.

It wasn’t until an hour or two later, far past when Killerie knew she was supposed to be asleep, that Madeline leaned into her room.

“Are you awake?” She whispered.

Killerie didn’t even turn around, pointedly ignoring the molt in the room. “What is it?”

“The nuisance elves came back,” Madeline replied.

Killerie's head snapped up as she craned around, staring at her mom. "Again?"

Madeline nodded seriously. "The microwave isn't working anymore. Do you want to…?"

"Yeah," Killerie replied, climbing out of her nest. "Might as well."

Nuisance elves were tiny creatures that took technology apart and hid the pieces all over the house. Killerie had never seen them, but they'd dismantled everything from frothers and electric toothbrushes to coffee makers and, on one memorable occasion, the back of the refrigerator.

Killerie passed her mom, who at least looked relieved she was up and about. Raising her head, she took a good sniff.

She had a… feeling about components. She'd wanted to call it the sixth sense, but apparently that was already taken, so she called it 'second scent'.

There was something in the bathroom. Killerie went in and started hunting. It was only a few minutes before she found the microwave's waveguide, hidden behind a few almost-empty shampoo bottles.

Curiosity gradually climbing, Killerie left the bathroom and kept looking. The magnetron was in the kitchen, under a jar of cookies, and the power supply was hidden underneath one of the couch cushions.

Curling up in the middle of the living room and surrounded by hovering components, Killerie pulled the microwave over to her and set it down.

Madeline brought her a mug of hot chocolate and her favorite blanket. Killerie barely noticed, although she did briefly wonder if Madeline had gone and bought more drink mix while Killerie was unconscious.

Setting the broken microwave on the floor, Killerie gently teased the screws out of their sockets with a careful telekinetic effort, one by one. Lifting a few objects was one thing. Rotating something was an entirely different matter.

Removing the back, she flipped it on its front and started putting the components back in. It was relatively simple. Power supply here, plug it back in. Magnetron in the back corner, attach it to the supply. Waveguide right next to it, and thankfully the stirrer was still intact.

The nuisance elves never took anything apart so thoroughly that she couldn't fix it, Killerie thought with satisfaction.

Madeline wrapped her in the blanket and leaned on her plates, a warm and comforting presence against her back. Killerie was focused on the microwave, although she did take a sip of the hot chocolate she'd been given. Replacing the back panel, she plugged it into the wall and…

...it didn't work.

Killerie frowned. Was it possible that the elves took something apart internally and didn't remove it? They'd never done that before.

With a resigned sigh, she took the panel off again, pulling the parts out. If nothing else, this was a welcome distraction from her molt.

It took eighty minutes and a second cup of hot chocolate.

In the middle of the living room, illuminated by green moonlight, lay a giant centipede, fast asleep. A microwave sat on the floor next to her, a barely audible purr emanating from its angled metal shape, and her mom slept against her side.