The Roach

"Good now rise Dwayne."

I finished naming my bat, I was pleased.

The bat felt intelligent and even strangely obedient, 'that could only be a good thing. I thought smugly.

I was initially, a bit iffy about catching the grey bat when I saw it in its sorry state but I was glad now, an unbidden instinct had told me another opportunity was before me.

I had heeded the impulse and now was watching astonished as the grey bat twitched frantically the yellow chains having long since disappeared.

The bat thrashed and writhed, grey tufts of thin fur filling the air, as a new layer of thicker sleek dark growth began shrouding the bat from head to skinny clawed toe.

The bat was enlarging, its entire frame swelling up.

It was swiftly growing larger, too quickly I think.

The bat's claws raked out almost taking out one of my eyes, I, dodging it by flicking my head to the side.

The bat flailed about, its eyes still sealed shut, wings beating furiously as it convulsed erratically, growing explosively in those few moments, it was filling up the dens space at a stupendous rate.

The small space was feeling increasingly tight, the walls beginning to shake.

'Hmmm well, time to go' I thought, as a much larger claw almost struck me in the head again.

This bat was still growing and I didn't want to get stuck or crushed if the bat got ridiculously large.

I had already experienced that one too many times.

Hopefully, after the bat finished its sudden growth I could dig it out of the ceiling and it wouldn't be dead.

It would be quite a shame if I lost that collar for nothing, I only had one more and having so few minions would be rather sad.

I jumped from the ceiling my hooked feet releasing the stone, twisting mid-air, sheathed wings temporarily released as I landed on the moss-covered floor, lifting my head to watch the cracks spreading from the old den.

I needn't have worried about digging, as soon the roof of my cavern exploded, a large pile of rubble falling in a heap before me with something large, dark and powerful rising from the ensuing dust cloud and rubble.

Well at least I don't have to dig anymore I observed, noting all the mess and dust coating my home.

I did not like mess or disorder, I liked to keep things tidy.

Hard plate twitching I looked upon the beast before me.

It was big, not as big as me, but for a human, its size could be pretty intimidating.

It had huge hooked talons at the ends of both its slender raptor-like feet and more upon the elbow and long-fingered phalanges attached to the leathery wings.

it did not stand upright but moved more like a quadruped or ape, walking on its jointed knuckles and talons, connected wings slightly folded behind its arms.

And it was ripped, bulky, I could see a fair bit of muscle on the thing, it wasn't that far behind the troll I killed earlier, at least not in terms of appearance.

The monsters head was fearsome, Many razor fangs lined its narrow maw two of them being particularly large, it had sharp ears that looked like the horns of a devil, a flared nose and a spiky mane of dark fur that covered it like a wild crown, sheathing its neck in thick fur.

Overall the creature looked very menacing and its eyes were no different, Its eyes opened, revealing vividly orange practically glowing orbs with slitted pupils at the centers.

I carefully regarded the beast in front of me.

This was a killer, an experienced hunter.

The bat's eyes narrowed and focused in on me, there was power in its glare, it was testing me.

My antennae flicked in annoyance but I accepted the creature's challenge.

We regarded each other for a time, two great hunters sizing each other up, trying to decide who was prey and who was weak, staring hard until the bat blinked and looked down, dropping its head into a low bow.

"I Bow before my king," a deep bass voice reverberated inside my head, a voice like crushing stones.

I knew this voice it was the voice of my new familiar.

Dwayne.

A distinct feeling of pleasure rose up in me as Dwayne bowed,

'Now this was a proper way to respond to your master,' I muttered to myself glancing at the openly staring Roulette and unconscious Lescar next to her.

Those two needed to follow Dwayne's lead.

In a satisfied voice, I said to the bowing Dwayne.

"It is good you recognize your master, but you may rise now, I have a task for you."

The monstrous bat straightened up, his eyes gleaming.

"What do you desire my king?" The enormous bat said voice gravely steady, he was certainly taking this seriously.

'Good' I thought that's just the kind of attitude I want from my servant's, 'serious devotion.'

"Go to the entrance of my cavern and make sure nothing enters, I do not want to be disturbed by outside fools."

A small test to see the loyalty of my new familiar, to ascertain how I should deal with Dwayne in the future.

I finished my commands and was about to turn around when I realized Dwayne had not yet moved, I turned my head back and was about to urge him along when I noticed his turbulent emotions.

It was like sitting in a sauna with no water, so really more of an oven, it was kind of unpleasant

It was almost frightening, the intensity of the feelings was rediculous, straining our connection with the potency of his emotional brew.

He was elated, ecstatic, it was almost to much joy to bear.

"GLORIOUS!" Dwayne boomed " I SHALL TEAR HIS MAJESTIES FOES ASUNDER AND RAIN FURIOUS WRATH UPON ALL WHO DARE APPROACH!"

His voice was sonorous and as I watched he lifted his head high and roared eyes focused on me briefly

" I THANK THEE, YOUR MAJESTY FOR THIS IMPORTANT TASK! I SHALL NOT FAIL!"

I watched in stunned silence as Dwayne screeched.

"FOR THE KING! FOR THE GLORY OF HIS MAJESTY!"

Without waiting for a response the exultant bat turned tail and bounded toward the entrance of my home, roaring the whole while, jaws slavering.

Dwayne's echoing roars still present in the distance, I stood there in shocked silence for a good ten seconds before I finally brought myself back to bear.

'Ok, what was that,' I said incredulously to myself, I had wanted loyalty and obedience but this time it looks like I got a zealot.

It wasn't really a bad thing for me but it was certainly... surprising.

I stood stock-still for a time staring down the passage Dwayne had left through, Roulette coming to stand up next to me still dragging the very chewed up troll hand with her.

"Hey, dad who was that scary guy? is he my new brother?"

"In a way," I said shortly, still looking down the passage in astonishment.

Roulette heard this and jumped up and hugged my leg again.

"Yay! a new brother! does this make me the big sister?!" Roulette looked up at me again crimson eyes shining.

I looked at Roulette, mind drifting away from Dwayne's zealotry, she seemed to know an awful of human concepts for a rat, another effect of my influence perhaps?

"No, if anything Dwayne is your elder brother," I said severely.

"Ehhhhh but I was here first!" Roulette stamped clasping her paws together in a fit of pouting.

Completely ineffectual pouting.

If I was going to have a hierarchy among my servants the more valuable and loyal ones would naturally rank higher.

Dwayne was obviously very loyal, Roulette was also loyal but in a much more work-intensive way

Lescar, when she woke up, would also rank highly, after all, she was a critical component in my budding plans and also my first servant, Seniority should count for something.

Sadly for Roulette that placed her firmly at the bottom of the hierarchy, being the weakest and least important, or in her words I suppose, made her the youngest sister.

"Nope, little one," I said firmly moving over to the sleeping Lescar and placing her on my back again, "you are the youngest one here that makes you the little sister."

"But-" Roulette began again

"No buts," I said and began pulling the troll hand away with a forelimb.

"Nooooo!" Roulette cried eyes widening in horror "I'm still hungry! wait dont take it!" Roulette anxiously pleaded before saying hurriedly, desperately trying to placate me " I'm the little sister I am!"

'Too easy' I chuckled to myself, I dropped the hand and fixed the rat with a piercing look, even if Roulette were hard work compared Dwayne she was still easily shepherded, thanks to her appetite.

"You are the youngest, remember that." I affixed unfalteringly lowering my head to Roulettes level, staring her in the eyes

"Yes, dad..." Roulette said sullenly, Looking away from me, unable to meet my eyes.

Seeing her morose expression I rubbed her head with a feathery antenna, stick alone was no good, full conditioning also required proper use of carrot.

"Good girl, being the youngest isn't necessarily a bad thing," I said comfortingly "you will see, the eldest is usually very busy," I added.

And they would be, I planned to work Lescar and Dwayne hard, Roulette would also be worked but she wasn't nearly as critical.

Dwayne already showed great promise, he was surely strong and Lescar was my future mouthpiece and figurehead, they would both be very busy.

Roulette cheered up quickly as I patted her gently, curling her tail around my leg possessively.

"Does that mean I'm your favorite, dad?" Roulette said happily seemingly having taken my words for some sort of favoritism, which was not entirely untrue.

"Hmmph," I said in a stately fashion "I value all my possessions, children included."

"Aww! dad! you didn't answer my question" Roulette said in a chiding but affectionate voice as she wiggled on my leg, she was climbing it, tail towing the hand behind her as she went, arriving next to the still passed out Lescar before settling down to feed on the hand.

I let her do that, it would deepen her percieved bond to me and make her easier to influence in the future.

All things had their uses and Roulette would surely have one someday.

With the two girls stowed away on my back, I rose and looked around.

I still had one last collar and perhaps something in my glade might be worthy of my attention.

My glade/cave was normally full of life, very quiet life but still plenty of life, but right now nothing stirred, the only living things being a few slimes and a whole lot of plants and glowworms.

Useless... unless...

I looked at the slimes

Yes maybe...

Dragging out the last collar I moved toward the blobular creatures.

Slime wrangling time.

The slimes

The largest slime, a Crimson slime felt something strike it and stick in its thick viscous body, it tried to absorb and devour the foreign object but, it was indigestible.

With a wet putt, the slime pushed the object out, moving in the opposite direction from the hard object, it sensed something large nearby and fled, acting on instincts and no more.

The next largest slime, a shade slime felt something collide with it, and threw tendrils out at its potential attacker or meal, but found nothing but a cold metal band, the dim mind of the shade slime registered confusion having found nothing edible and like the first slime moved away from the hard object, the other Shade slimes near it following its lead.

Soon all the slimes had retreated into cracks in the walls or into tiny hollows, save for one.

It was tiny and green, the last remaining gunk slime in the entire forest, having gone unnoticed due to its size.

The small gunk slime continued foraging for food blindly, dissolving small tender shoots and plants as it went, its mind nonexistent being little more than an automated lawnmower.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... -

it was mindless only moving on instinct and reaction as its genes dictated until as it was dissolving the 20th blade of grass for the day, something changed.

.......................................................................................................................................................???

The tiny slime felt something strike its side and immediately went to dissolve it, but the hard object had already disappeared, and the slime felt something.

??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???

{You have been bonded to user #$##%^# you are a contracted familiar - serve your master with zealous desire}

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A surge of energy filled every drop of the slimes entirety for a scant moment then disappeared just as swiftly but not before it lit a spark in the otherwise brain dead slime.

!? ??? !! ????!!! !???! ??!!!! ?!! ?!!!?? ????????

The slimes infantile mind understood nothing around it, but it recognized one thing, a concept.

"Your... name is,,, Dewey"

It knew its name.

Dewey the slime shuddered, its young mind curious, the world felt different everything was new.

It was all so exciting!

The tiny slime wobbled to and fro as it looked upon the small sphere of reality around its self, limited senses straining, trying to absorb every sound, taste and sensation, the small blob trembling in wonder.

!!! !!! !!!