I thought about how to respond to Rulac's words. I wouldn't have any way to know what a human was, and, as far as he knew, the most dangerous predator I had come in contact with had been slaughtered by him.

"... You said 'they'. Do we know how many of them there are?"

"Well, they work differently from us. The group that we've seen is apparently already aware of our existence, but, hopefully, they don't know our numbers. If they don't, then they won't have already asked for help from others of their kind, which means we may stand a chance of wiping them out. That's what I mean when I say they're different from us--they keep in contact with others of their kind and, if they feel threatened, they beg for help. It's weakness, but also strength." Rulac seemed to look down on humanity while still respecting them in some strange dichotomy.

I slowly nodded. "How long do we have?"

Rulac sighed and shrugged. "Never know. We don't know how long the bastards have known about our existence, but we know for sure that they do now. We have up to a month, but no longer. Get ready to engage with them in a hybrid of assault and defense. We'll begin with defensive measures, since that will better allow us to take them by surprise and weaken them before we hopefully wipe them out."

At this, Rulac nodded to me, then turned to another, the male that was called out as the second of the Alqats. They spoke quietly together as they walked away, and I noticed several of the other Alqats beginning to approach the two of them. Took looked on in envy and general longing as I gestured for the swarm to follow me out.

...

We walked in silence as we ascended back to our den, and, waiting in the entry for us was Joral. He grinned widely as we approached, "Hey, welcome back! These little ones were beginning to get antsy, but I kept them in line, so don't worry!" I rolled my eyes back at him, then stepped past him. While he was large for a non-alpha spawnling, he still couldn't measure up to an average adult keelish yet, and my pack was larger than most of the normal adult keelish we saw today, so he was still dwarfed even by Vefir, who was the thinnest and smallest of all the members of the swarm. That said, he was probably the most beloved of all of the members of the swarm, given that he had spared most every member some suffering at some point, myself included, as my shoulder had regained stiff mobility, but never was going to work as well as before. He had also been taking some basic combat lessons from his brother, who had become a key member of my hunting squad, so he wasn't completely useless in combat either. Tangents aside, Joral didn't stand a chance against most any adult member of the swarm, but he wasn't too far off of being able to.

The swarm began to enter the den, and I spoke up. "Everyone, gather in the main room."

Everyone followed me closely as I went to the front of the adjoining room.

"Bella's execution was not an expression of my inability to let anyone defect from the swarm, so much as a necessary demonstration of my willingness to abide by the rules of the swarm as a whole. If you feel that this swarm is not your home, then leave, and soon. I won't abide by idiots who want to test their luck badmouthing and usurping power here. Make your choice." I looked around the group, specifically setting my sights on a couple of the members that I thought most likely to defect, Shemira included. Most didn't look back directly at me, but I didn't mind them.

"That said, I fully intend to continue spreading our influence and power throughout the swarm, and those who wholeheartedly follow me will find themselves better off than those who decide to abandon the cause. That's all." I turned from my audience, and gestured for my core circle to follow me to my quarters.

Took and Sybil were the first to follow, while the twins, Treel, and Foire were close behind them. For a time, I had tried to include Brutus on these conversations, but he wasn't anywhere near a contributor, and he didn't feel left out if we didn't include him, so I had slowly phased him out of attendance. We walked through the halls, with all the spawnlings we passed looking on in respect and awe. After a moment's quiet walk, I stepped into my room, and the others filed in behind me. I stood in the deepest part of the room, and opened us all up with just one question: "How do you intend for us to grow in power and influence? Beta?"

Took looked around, then shrugged, "Hunt more, bigger prey. Like these 'human'."

Sybil looked pensive for a moment, then spoke hesitantly at first, but growing in confidence, "We need to know more of the rest of the adult keelish. We don't know hardly anyone. While we DO know several who are in the highest positions in the swarm, we don't know many in general. We need to branch out and establish ourselves as a real, growing power, so that, as we gain power and influence, we will be taken seriously in any bids for greater power we make."

As she began to talk faster and louder in conviction, I noted the rest of the swarm looking at her in confusion at first, but then to excitement.

I nodded slowly, then turned to the rest. "Anything else to add to what our Beta and Gamma have said?"

Slow shakes of the head came from all my subordinates, except Silf, who briefly spoke, "I think we can leverage more communication with more spawnlings in the future. Expand our numbers there as well. Nothing immediate though."

I nodded along with his statement. "Sounds good to me in general, however, I think that one thing will take precedence over all else: personal strength. The more powerful we are as individuals, the greater our influence will be, regardless of any tricks we try to pull. Therefore, everyone, work on your personal growth. I have a couple of things that I think will grant me greater power, that I will be trying soon. Anything that appeals to you, try it. It might afford you growth.

"The first of these plans... Well, I have an announcement of my intentions.

"I plan to try to become the newest Alqat and gain their support in my bid for leadership of the swarm."