I looked up at Rulac, curiously nervous. He was still quite large, but since my growth to adulthood, he didn't tower over me quite as much as before. The more I grew and more correctly estimated my own size, I realized that this behemoth was closer to 1.8m tall than 1.7. I figured I had grown to about 1.4m at this point, about the same size as Redael.

Rulac glanced down at me, and smiled. "Look, whenever a new brood reaches adulthood, they need to see how much bigger than them the swarm is. Bring all your broodmates and follow me." He settled back on his haunches and looked curiously around our den while smiling flirtatiously at any of the prettier females that walked past.

"So, any advice for me as I bring the rest of my pack?"

"Nope. Good luck!" It was obvious that Rulac was trying to hold back his laughter, and rather unsuccessfully at that. Great.

I called for everyone to gather up, and was pleased that they all (mostly) came together quickly and willingly. The two notable exceptions were Bella and Shemira, both of whom slunk forward with a frustrated or almost guilty look on their faces. Bella had continued fawning over Shemira and her apparent beauty, and while Shemira welcomed any and all keelish that wished to follow her, Shemira was coming to understand that she wasn't going to be able to usurp any meaningful power from me. Thus, she hadn't been so conniving nor… sneaky of late. I still didn't much trust her, but she was starting to prove herself at least not quite so shifty as previously. Bella, for her part, was obviously still wildly unaware of how Shemira's outlook had changed, and could occasionally be heard muttering under her breath about how, "soon, you'll all see that Shemira is the best leader around…" I figured that she couldn't possibly be any harm to me, and the rest of the swarm (even the youngest ones from the other generation) laughed at her behind her back, so I left her to her delusions of grandeur.

Regardless of the state of mind of my less than enthusiastic followers, I decided it was in my best interest to quickly bring my fellows to our little meeting and began walking deeper into the den after Rulac.

As we descended, I was surprised to note how many more keelish I saw than I had ever before--nearly every little passageway saw some sort of my fellow kin poking their head out. I realized now that I was now one of the tallest in the swarm. I was still outclassed by Took, and Treel probably would stand taller than me if she ever stood up straight. Nonetheless, I was bigger than before, and the stares of keelish my size and smaller weren't anywhere near so unnerving now as they were before.

Finally, we arrived at the bottom of the den, where Redael sat, ready and waiting for us to arrive. As we got closer, Redael smiled broadly and began to speak.

"Now, I see potential in you. But, you are yet unaware of your place in this swarm. You are small in stature and numbers, and you need to listen to your superiors at all times. This will alllow you to understand the world at large, and to grow faster and better."

With that, Redael stepped down and looked at Rulac, who, after a moment's hesitation, made his way to address the crowd. "You are free to maintain your current pack, there will be nobody forced to stay nor leave. Any keelish can follow another they can consider to be more qualified or powerful." I wasn't quite sure what I was supposed to get from that. Was the swarm as a whole attempting to pull us apart as a group? Or was it an attempt to weaken any who attempt to rise up against the established system? My mind was racing, trying to figure out what exactly this meant for me, and my plans to eventually overtake the entire swarm.

Rulac continued, "That said," his loud words cut through my stupor of thought, and I refocused on the task at hand--listening to these momentous changes. "there will be some changes to the way that you live here, as you will be expected to offer a small portion of your hunts and growth to the swarm, which will then be proffered to the youngest members of the pack."

"Any questions?"