Sex was different as a keelish, but, in the end, not too different. Afterwards, Sybil affectionately nibbled on my neck, "Now, if that didn't work, we can try again before too long, now that you know the signs. Keep leading us as you have been, and I'm sure you'll be in control of the swarm soon." She smiled at me, more gently than usual, without the gentle bite of her sarcasm, as she walked out.

I rolled my neck and right shoulder. My arm was always stiff, but was especially so after this... unusual exercise. As I did so, I took note of the flashing [System] Notification.

[Quest completed. Growth Achieved. Quest board updated. Status Updated.]

I quickly checked my [Status]

[Status:

Name: Ashlani

Race: Sonic Magicblood Sub-Swarm Alpha

Current quests:

—Kill and devour 3 new species. Progress: 0/3. Rewards: Constitution, Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Magic +2. May vary due to difficulty of the hunt.

--Kill 5 humans. Progress: 0/5. Rewards: Constitution, Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Magic +5.

—Usurp control of the entire swarm. Progress: 5%. Rewards: Intelligence +9.

Stats:

-Constitution: 29+4=33

-Strength: 38

-Agility: 39

-Intelligence: 30+3=33

-Magic: 27

Skills:

Innate Leadership—cannot evolve

Pack Tactics—current evolutionary progress: 0/10

Improved Bloodlust—current evolutionary progress: 0/3

Dominance—current evolutionary progress: 87/100

Improved Vision--current evolutionary progress: 0/18

Sonilphon—current evolutionary progress: 28/50

Evolutionary foresight

-Sonic Magicblood Swarm Beta—Requirements: Acknowledgement of the Swarm's Alpha.

-Sonic Magicblood Swarm Alpha—Requirements: Deposing the current Swarm Alpha. Acquiring the approval of 75% of the total swarm.

Other evolutions possible, but not currently foreseen.]

So, the quest disappeared... Did this mean that eggs were officially fertilized? Or maybe was it just intercourse? But it had specifically said to sire a brood, and there was no way something was about to be born... I quickly dismissed the thought from my mind, and instead relished the feeling of growth while reading the new Quest: Kill and devour 3 new species.

Truth be told, I wasn't too surprised by the newest Quest. It seemed that the more variety of what I consumed, the more I grew, and quicker, so it made sense to see it directly. It did specify that I needed to hunt the new species myself, so I wondered how my recent hunt of the scaled deer impacted this. [System]? Any answers?

[The Administrator has deemed it unnecessary to divulge that information. However, that decision may be rescinded, depending on your future growth.]

Ugh. It'd been a while since I'd heard that, I'd almost forgotten how frustrating it was, even though this was just an idle query. Suddenly, while I was thinking more specifically about the [System], a question occurred...

Hey, [System], how can I learn about how to acquire or qualify for other evolutions?

[The Administrator has deemed it unnecessary to... The Administrator has overridden previous commands. The [System] user will qualify for further evolutions as they continue to develop the Skills and experiences that they already have, or through the acquisition of more Skills or experience.]

The thought flashed: Would I qualify for a new evolution if I focused on a skill's growth? A quick glance through my skill list showed that I only really had 2 options at the moment: Improved Bloodlust, or Sonilphon. I might be able to evolve Dominance as well, but with a war breathing down our necks, I worried that any aggression that I used to progress the skill might earn me new enemies, or, at the very least, ill will. I hemmed and hawed over it for a while, then decided that deciding tomorrow wouldn't negatively impact me, since there wasn't much left of today.

I stepped out of my quarters, and the guard/messenger at the door gave me a look. He wasn't quite approving, but certainly wasn't disapproving. I didn't think we'd been too loud, but propriety wasn't exactly on my mind as I'd tried to drown out my embarrassment in carnal pleasure, so maybe there'd been more noise than I'd thought. Was this little one the gossiping type? After the briefest moment's thought, I realized I didn't much care, and moved on down the hall.

Every female I passed looked at me long and hard, and a couple of the males started to grin, but, upon recognizing me, quickly returned to a more reserved nod instead. That was strange, since there was no way that the word had spread that fast, and I couldn't imagine that Sybil was walking around, announcing to the swarm that we'd just bumped uglies.

After Foire and Treel looked at me, then each other suggestively, I needed to go. I didn't know where, and I didn't know for how long, but I needed to not be where I could feel Silf's eyes on me and see Took's raised eye ridge. I jogged down to the Alqat den, deciding that was my best bet.

I was wrong.

As I walked through the entryway, Rulac perked up, and turned around, grinning.

"Who wants some of... what are you doing?" His face fell, and he started to hold back laughter.

"What do you mean?" I was half acting innocent, and half actually confused.

"Your female is going to be pissed."

"... Um... Why?"

Rulac's jaw dropped. "You really don't realize what you've done?"

I was starting to get frustrated. "WHAT?"

"You NEED to get yourself clean, now. You smell like rutting."

I realized--Sybil had continued with her pheromones the entire time, and I must have smelled just like her "seduction" smell. Maybe she'd accept the "I'm just an idiot" excuse again?

Rulac grinned wryly. "Well, I do feel some congratulations are in order. You've experienced sex, so good for you! Might be a while before you experience it again, though." Rulac could no longer contain his laughter, and guffaws echoed through the training area, and a couple other Alqat poked their heads out, confused about the conversation we were having.

...

It wasn't too long before I had cleaned myself satisfactorily, and then went to talk to Rulac for real.

"So... What should we do, when this war gets started?"

Rulac went through his uncanny transformation, and he seriously looked back at me. "Who do you mean?"

"Well, I'm not an Alqat, so my pack."

"The spawnlings will suffer dire losses, but the survivors will be stronger than me, so they should be on the front lines. The same goes for the rest of your pack, but we don't want to expose our numbers before we eliminate the initial assault force, so, for now, do whatever you can to stay sane and get stronger." He grinned wolfishly at me. "You want to go a round or three with me?"