The sewers- Lescar

In the subterranean passages of the ancient Octaal sewers, a loud ruckus only those of the telepathic discipline could hear raged like a flopping fish.

"Let go of me! put me down! Roooooouuuuuleeeette!"

An unhappy, angry, and perhaps flustered voice, called out in the subterranean glade, the bearer of that voice struggling mightily against their captor, completely failing to achieve anything more than to make their captor giggle.

"Hee! hee! But daddy you've gotten so small and huggable, how am I supposed to put you down?"

A white rat with a bony crested tail clasped a writhing and colorful looking invertebrate to its chest, the colorful creature was none other than Taldur, and the rat none other than Roulette.

Besides her, Dwayne scratched his head while sheepishly explaining to the struggling Taldur how he, Taldur's right claw, thought Taldur's new size was magnificent and how it wasn't size, but how one hunted that was important.

Taldur was not listening to Dwayne at all, he was already occupied with Roulette, not that Dwayne noticed either, he was too embarrassed at his past claims, that being tiny was pathetic, to notice his audience was busy.

On the other side of the waffling Dwayne, waving his eyestalk like a metronome, Dewey happily watched the active proceedings with mirthful glee, not at all caring how small Taldur had become only that he too wanted to add to the din.

"!!!! !!!! !!!!!"

Standing by idly, Lescar watched with an uncertain smile at the noisy scene playing out in front of her, two parts entertained and three parts mortified, Taldur was so tiny now, so tiny that Roulette was able to forcefully restrain him with little more than overbearing cuddling.

The cavern and glade were occupied with the bawdy reboundings of Taldurs familiars, the conversation and echoes were actually completely silent, but Lescar was sure that if the soundless communication were able to be heard with the naked ear, it would be deafening, each familiar adding more to the growing mental cacophony.

"Hug! Hug! Hug! Hug!" Roulette chimed Happily, holding the resistant Taldur tight to her chest limiting his movements, as her bony tail did its usual flicking and twitching, a sign of Roulette's merriness.

"!!!! !!!! !!!!!! !!!! !!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Dewey pinged, hopping up and down, his jelly-like body filling the air with wet slapping sounds.

"...Of course I'm not saying you are tiny my lord only that your small form is an excellent choice..." Dwayne continued to ramble, still trying to explain his prior words.

Unlike Roulette, Dewey, and Dwayne, Taldur was extremely uncomfortable being ignored and hugged like a doll, attempting to grab everyone's attention with shouting, something that only added to the loud mental clamor.

"PUT ME DOWN! ROULETTE!" Taldur shouted trying to be heard over the voices of his raucous familiars.

He was not heard.

Dewey's jolly vocalisations rang out,

"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Dwayne continued to explain away his mistake.

"...As you can see your majesty I bear no ill will to the small and the feeble, not that you are feeble my lord far from it! I think that you..."

And Roulette pushed the limits of personal boundaries.

"Daddy has such soft tufty scruffs now! I want to bury my face in them!"

Lescar wasn't sure whether she wanted to burst out laughing at the previously terrifying Taldur who was now, not even strong enough to breach Roulettes hold, or lament how she was probably doomed now that Taldur was so weak and helpless.

Lescar's thoughts diverged from the present as she considered her future.

Something as small as Taldur certainly would not be able to defend her up on the surface, Taldur's new vibrant and exotic appearance would only attract attention from people Lescar would like to avoid, slavers and beastmasters loved unique creatures and would not hesitate to steal or kidnap creatures like that, even if they were already owned by someone else.

While Lescar technically didn't own Taldur, it being exactly the opposite, that wouldn't stop such people from trying their luck at it anyways.

Not that it looked like Taldur had a way back to the surface for such things to be a concern any time soon, she didn't think Taldur knew how to get there considering all the weird questions he had asked in the past days before his transformation, but... maybe he did want to go there in the future.

The questions he had asked in the past were like, 'what's the common standard of dress,' 'what codes of conduct does society hold,' and finally whether or not something called 'insurance' existed.

A lot of what Taldur had asked and prattled on about didn't make much sense to Lescar, the big devil bug had mentioned something about weather and surface conditions among other more extraneous things, tilting his head in consideration upon hearing Lescar's description of the surface and the current season, the season of red, when the leaves fell from all the trees.

"Autumn? A temperate environment? Not tropical? Mmm troubling... that could prove to be an obstacle, clearly, this sewer is sheltered from the effects of the seasons, probably due to how deep it must be in the ground, I wonder..."

At the time, confused about what this had to do with returning to the surface, Lescar had asked him to explain what the hells he was talking about, Taldur had answered with an abrupt look and dismissive wave of a feeler.

"Mmmm no... I don't think your ready for that kind of information."

The conversation had ended there, and now Taldur was too small to take seriously, obviously, Taldurs 'change' had not gone according to plan.

She hoped whatever ideas the bug came up with next actually worked, she was bound to him now after all.

Returning her mind to the present, Lescar observed with mixed mirth and worry as a cat-sized Taldur wriggled helplessly, legs flailing in the air, Roulette beginning to Nuzzle and rub her head against Taldurs feathery crests like they were soft pillows.

"Fluffy! fluffy! Daddy is so fluffy!" Roulette continued to chime, ignoring or being blissfully unaware of her 'daddies' growing ire.

Growing increasingly infuriated with his words not being heard or heeded over the general din and commotion of his retinue, it wasn't long until the pressurized situation exploded.

"ENOUGH!" Taldur barked in almost a roar, stamping his anecdotal foot down, he'd had his fill of Roulettes incessant hugging and everyone else's lack of action.

With a stern voice that rang with power, unlike earlier, Taldur told the white rat off with something the cheeky rat would not ignore.

"Put me down this instant! Or I won't be sharing any of 'my' frogs with you!"

"Eeeek!" Roulette squeaked at the booming of her father's voice, claws wavering as she swiftly considered whether she wanted to risk losing her favorite food more than holding her fluffy and huggable dad for a few more seconds.

It was a quick decision Roulette came to, with Taldur's clear anger and displeasure frightening her.

Reluctantly and a little shakingly, Roulette lowered her flailing parent to the ground, immediately after which Taldur scurried over to Lescar in a move that surprised her, climbing up Lescar's leg swiftly in a fluid and almost graceful movement before arriving at her shoulder and perching there.

For any mass and raw physical strength that Taldur had lost he had seemingly gained agile and dextrous movement.

In moments Taldurs more serpentine, colorful and almost elegant body was draped over her shoulders like a thick and heavy living scarf with spindly legs.

Whispering through her bond, Taldur asked Lescar to "Stay still, I need a good vantage point, the others are being too loud."

Feeling her skin crawl slightly as Taldurs spiny legs pricked her nape, Lescar didn't respond with words sending the equivalent of a mental nod to Taldur instead, she was getting better at this kind of communication.

Pleased at Lescars conformity on the request, some of the fury in the cockroach's eyes evaporated, but only some, Taldur was very much still angry.

Taldur was quivering slightly, he was nervous?, Lescar wasn't sure but he was certainly not happy with his new tiny size.

Lescar could hear words like a distant echo, words Lescar was certain that she was not intended to hear.

"The silly system said nothing about regressing in size... grrrrrr! stupid vague descriptions! I swear when I find whatever crazy coot that made the thing..."

Lescar heard the cockroaches angry internal words if barely, he was unhappy enough for his unnatural form of communication to be slipping up, something she had not experienced often, the cockroach was normally calm and collected.

Being treated like a doll wasn't something Taldur liked, Lescar didn't blame him she wouldn't like that either if it were her.

With Taldur wrapped firmly around her neck, Lescar found it a little disturbing to have him so close and at the same time comforting, It was an odd sensation.

Draped around Lescar's neck like a chitinous feathery shawl Lescar felt in part, uneasy, even if she now knew the smaller but still very intimidating Taldur wouldn't harm her unless she gave him a very good reason too.

It still unnerved Lescar to have what was once a monstrous beast, so close to her supple and vulnerable neck, one bite and Taldur, even in his shrunken state, could decapitate or tear her jugular out with ease.

But that subtle whisper in the corner of her mind assured her that she could trust the insect to keep his word with her, and this time Lescar did not question why she should take the assurances of a quiet voice, merely rolling with it.

She was pretty sure it was part of the devil bug Taldur's influence, but this time she did actually agree with it.

Taldur wouldn't betray her, she believed that now.

With an approving glance and nod at Lescar who remained still enough for the insect to comfortably settle in, Lescar was spared Taldur's anger, that anger, instead, being directed in the opposite direction.

Right, at all the other familiars who had not caught on fast enough to realize how pissed off Taldur was, they very quickly found out in a way they would soon not forget.

Sitting securely on Lescar's shoulder with an expression best described as indignant on the insect's hard features, Taldur looked down at the other familiars, Dewey and Dwanye finally going silent as they realized that their master was waiting.

While Taldur's fury was directed at all three creatures before him, he was most displeased with Roulette, leveraging his higher elevation on Lescar's shoulders to appear more imposing as he spoke some scathing words.

At first, Lescar thought Taldur was just going to scold Roulette and the others a little, but he went a bit further than that.

The almost humorous and playful air disappeared, displaced by a sudden icy atmosphere, Lescar felt the air turn chilly and swore she could suddenly see her own breath frosting up as the shadows lengthened and the yellow orbs that were Taldur's eyes burned like diseased suns, Lescar almost dropped Taldur like a hot rock seeing that but refrained from doing so being Taldurs stand, instead gritting her teeth, trying not to cringe at the sudden change in atmosphere.

'This is more intense than last time,' Lescar thought, squinting as the room became faded, thinking back to when she first met Taldur and that malice had been directed at her, the feeling was similar but the intensity...

If before Taldur's presence and oppressive ire was like a stout camp fire, now it was like a raging bonfire, and that fire was flowing through Lescar, passing through her harmlessly in an invisible force but buffeting the others viciously.

Hunger and ravenous malice given weight, Lescar herself wanted to shy away from Taldur, but at the same time...

It was invigorating, the power... this was the power that Taldur could wield? it was similar to what she experienced when she had fought that mage and troll but so much sweeter, dangerously so.

It was intoxicating, almost too much for her, barely maintaining her stance Lescar froze up like a statue, not wanting to move lest she lose control.

Continuing on, either ignoring or not caring that Lescar had stiffend up, Taldur, his voice more voluminous than a raging storm yet also as silent as a whisper, said.

"You are my familiars and you. will. listen. When I speak."

The air shivered and the glades light sources dimmed and flickered as the tiny insect recaptured and multiplied that air of spite that made him so terrifying, the force of his quietly spoken words carrying a weight beyond its volume in excess, many times more potent than yesterday when he fought the adventurers, the displeasure readily apparent in the tone of his voice.

Lescar's worries about how well Taldur would be able to fend for both himself and her faded away upon observing this jellifying pressure, she didn't think anything would be able to stomach this terrible spine shuddering feeling.

Lescar suppressed a shiver barely, the power radiating off Taldur still coursing through her, the points of contact between her and Taldur tingling and burning.

Lescar knew this had to do with Taldurs new form, he had not had nearly as impressive a presence as this before, the potency of the feeling was immense, It almost looked like a thick miasma was pouring off the devil bugs tiny body.

Taldur, eyes blazing like raging volcanoes, looked at each of his familiars in turn slowly, all three of them were quivering and trembling under the oppressive supernatural authority he wielded like a hammer, Lescar was just currently glad that she wasn't down there with the others, she had really dodged an arrow on that one.

All three familiars were being pressed into the ground with the weight of Taldurs presence, each looking bedraggled in their own way.

Dewey had gone from a happy rotund jelly to an apathetic deflating sack of barely moving goo.

Dwayne was pressed hard against the floor, unable to lift his great weight off the ground, looking more awed than fearful.

And Roulette was trying to hide behind her own tail, rolling herself up into a tight ball as she sought to avoid eye contact.

Taldur held his penetrating gaze firmly upon each familiar making sure they did not have the gall to resist his stipulations before he reminded them of their roles once more.

"Do not ignore my words in the future..."

It was a simple sentence but one laced with such menace and coercive power that Lescar felt out of breath as she heard it.

Despite his reduced size Taldur's impressive presence and aura of malice was still fully intact and more powerful than ever, giving the insectoid a demonic unholy presence that crushed the weak-willed into submission and made one want to cower and hide.

For a few seconds, the terrible miasma persisted, Taldur waiting for his words to sink in, before with a sudden flick of his antennas the ominous presence dispersed partially.

Lescar felt the oppressive feeling lessen somewhat and watched as Dwayne sat up gasping and Dewey popped back into his normal jolly state, they had been released with a warning, and neither seemed very perturbed about their scolding, actually Dwayne seemed overjoyed and proud, Lescar heard him mutter something along the lines of "his majesty is a worthy king, only a king has that kind of power."

The only familiar still being targetted by Taldur's field of dread was Roulette, who was looking truly terrified.

Giving Roulette a direct order, Taldur spoke cooly with burning eyes.

"Don't... pick me up... without asking... or next time there will be no warning when I remove your privileges..."

Another burst of unnatural fear rolled out like a wave, encasing everyone in the area.

Even Lescar who was not the target of Taldurs attention felt an ingrained fear to flee sourced from the most primordial parts of her brain, it was no wonder that Roulette was curled into a ball, her eyes showing a scared expression for the first time.

Roulette curled into a trembling sphere, poked a single crimson eye out between the coils of her long tail, she had never been directly subjected to her father's malicious and malevolent aura before and was not taking it well, her wide eyes showing just how frightened she was, boggling and almost popping out.

Lescar could see that the white rat was utterly scared witless.

Perhaps noticing this too, Taldur stopped, tilting his head, before suddenly, Lescar felt the forceful feeling of might almost completely dissipate.

The glade having slowly darkened during Taldurs episode, sprang back to full lighting, The false sky of the glade reappearing and the soul stones pulsing entering a more regular rhythm.

Speaking without great force or coercion Taldur simply said in a slightly tired voice, the threat gone from his tone as the yellow fires in his eyes died down.

"Do you understand Roulette? Next time ask first."

All of Taldur's anger vented, the atmosphere returned to a lighter if a palpably exhausted state, Roulette was still curled into a ball trembling on glade floor, and Lescar could feel the slightest filaments of regret emanating from the cracks in Taldurs walled off thoughts.

Lescar felt kind of sorry for Roulette, even if Roulette was annoying and persistent she did not really deserve that kind of reprimand.

The aura of power gone, Lescar limbered up, able to move normally once more.

Taking a sideways glance at the insect passenger riding her shoulder, Lescar studied Taldur's impassive features, she was still unable to read anything off his inhuman face, but she could still feel some of the sentiments he had occasionally.

'Taldur was feeling...' Lescar furrowed her brows in concentration 'guilt?' It was difficult to tell but it seemed that Taldur felt some form of sorrow, those still open cracks shedding light on the bug's mental state.

Lescar hid a genuine smile in her soul.

Even while capable of inducing gut-wrenching terror, the devil bug definitely had a heart hidden under that hard carapace somewhere, at least Lescar thought he did, why else would he feel regret?

Lescar's own heart felt lighter, she could definitely make friends someone like that, maybe Taldur was just a big softy under all that hard chitin-

Stopping mid-thought Lescar then glanced at the piled-up, mangled corpses of the adventurers, rigor mortis having long since settled into the terrified or pained expressions of the dead people, the great gaping wounds and tears still oozing ichor.

'Or maybe not...' Lescar thought quietly making sure to keep that thought to herself.

Taldur was... unique.

Taldur

It was a shame.

I almost botched things.

I was a little too overzealous.

A thick cloying feeling of regret and self-disappointment rolled through my mind, what I had done almost shattered the tender and tenuous trust I had built in some of my familiars, something that would surely be a terrible mistake and loss.

I had underestimated just how potent my enhanced innate powers had become, and as a result, I almost completely erased the goodwill Roulette had towards me.

Almost.

I took a critical eye to Roulette who was still curled in a ball, trembling every now and then in an apprehensive twitch, she was still scared out of her wits, the normally chatty rat was completely silent, only a soundless feeling of fear and... sorrow emitting from her quiet mind.

Perhaps there was a way to fix things here, I needed my familiars to trust me, they would be integral to my plans, I could feel it.

It was time to salvage the operation and turn things around, Distrust was not something I wanted my familiars to possess, that would not inspire loyalty, only betrayal.

Crawling slowly down from my spot on Lescar's shoulders, I moved towards Roulette, I had to patch things up.

Lescar watched me go a slight smile on her face, what was she smiling about?

Deciding it was currently irrelevant I focused on the unsavory task ahead.

I arrived before the balled up Roulette and then stopped, what should I do here?

Even in my past seemingly vague and evermore indistinct human life, I had never been that good at comforting others, that time I had consoled my aunt after my cousin died... or was it my uncle?

It was difficult to recall, I was certain I was getting something wrong but regardless of my bad human memory, I knew I had been very poor at it.

Out of my usual field of depth, I hesitated, uncertain of what I should do, Roulette still huddling against the ground.

Only one solution came to mind.

An apology.

It was the best I could come up with.

The very concept of apologizing made me feel a powerful sense of revulsion, I was her master, there was no need to apologize.

...But at the same time...

I had kind of gotten used to her calling me dad.

I clenched my mandibles together in frustration, there was no value in that word aside from the influence it gave me over Roulette, apologizing for such a petty reason was irrational...

Even as I told myself that, my decision began leaning towards that irrational thought.

I had gotten used to being called dad, It was soothing, almost familiar, Had I been a dad in my last life?

I could recall nothing of that nature, but the feeling did not subside.

The remanents of human emotions and sentiment inside me were still present if greatly weakened, at times useful but often a hindrance.

Grinding my saw-like jaws together before coming to a decision, I reached out towards the fearful Roulette with a tendril of thought.

I would apologize.

Gently and as tenderly as I could make my irritated self be, I touched Roulettes mind.

Her mind was like a whirling storm of panic and sadness, driving hailstones of fear making the whole mess even more chaotic, my earlier demonstration and lecture had really done a number on her, I would have to reel in my power in the future, I did not want to fry any of my familiars brains.

Speaking in an isolated mental voice, meant only for Roulette I said in a soft tone.

" Roulette... Roulette..."

Roulette did not respond, the general motion and speed of the storm only picking up further, the hailstones representing fear increasing in size, it wasn't getting better, I needed to hit hard with my words, fast, trying to maintain the position of superiority was ineffective here.

Gritting my segmented bladed teeth, I relented, clemency and the humble approach were needed, I had to apologize.

Speaking with a grain of sincerity that I drew from the dregs of my humanity I carefully told the fearful white rat.

"Roulette please don't be afraid, I'm... I'm-" The resistance to offering an apology pushed against my false tongue, pride and arrogance warring with something more gentle but equally powerful.

Guilt.

I was surprised, I hadn't felt this feeling much for all the time since I became a cockroach! It was almost nostalgic.

What had changed for that fossil of humanity to resurface so strongly in my goal-oriented mind?

A recollection of my fight with that system monster 'error' flashed through my mind.

A spear of great power conjured out of selfish desires made whole by human feelings...

Golden light piercing and burning away all as that power surged.

The intense feelings that came with that power, that made my current bandwidth of emotions seem shallow...

Something had certainly changed, but I didn't quite get it.

But I still felt guilt.

Furrowing my antennae I pushed aside my pride, I needed to fix things right now, not feed my ego.

With greater difficulty then I had experienced during my fight against those humans I forced the words out.

"I'm... I'm sorry Roulette..." I managed to cough.

It felt... unpleasant to apologize but also strangely liberating.

'Darn guilt' I internalized, it was an infectious substance.

But effective.

The roaring winds of fear and distrust died down in the mind of roulette as she slowly unfurled her tail, tentatively observing me with watery red eyes.

For a short time, we simply stared at each other, then Roulette blinked before saying in a voice choked with uneasy hesitation.

"Daddy..."

The apprehension in Roulette's voice was notable, my earlier outburst had certainly shaken her, but I had taken the first step in gluing the frayed ties that Roulette considered real back together.

I would continue to play the role and act of farther.

"Yes, my daughter?" I responded immediately, sensing an emotion I could seize and weaponize, the lingering remains of my own guilt still troubling me, but not tremendously.

Roulette stayed quiet again for a 'short in truth, but long in perspective' time, a building pressure filling that silence as Roulette, sniffling and making occasional hiccuping sounds finally responded to my querying words.

"I'm s- s- sorry daddy," Roulette cried out abruptly, noisily breaking the silence, red tears rolling off her large round eyes before running down her drooping whiskers, waves of remorse overflowing from her grief-stricken mind.

"I'm so sorry daddy I won't hug you again!" Roulette teared up, the red liquid I vaguely recalled was named porphyrin running in big divots down her pointed snout "I didn't mean to make you angry," Roulette continued to squall.

I stood still, surprised and little lost for what I should do, I had expected her to be more cagey after my wayward demonstration but it seemed a single (and rather crummy) apology was all that it took to console Roulette and convince her that it was entirely her fault, which some of it was for certain, but some of it also lay with me.

Roulette was easily guilted it seemed.

While establishing my dominance was important, it did not take priority over maintaining ties, especially now that I have become so small and greatly weakened.

My familiars are more important than ever, keeping them loyal was key.

I gazed at Roulette considering how I should handle the rat's penitent attitude.

I could send that guilt up another notch and use it to beat her into submission, I could slowly build insecurities into her creating vulnerabilities to exploit for easy manipulation, I could simply double down on force and coerce her into obedience.

All viable tactics but not ones I wanted to implement, especially the last one, I wanted true loyalty, and that kind of loyalty was earned not forced, all other methods would only result in more high risks later on if handled poorly or not micromanaged.

But trust and loyalty were expensive commodities and I would have a hard road of balancing things regardless of which way I took.

Still, I wanted genuine loyalty and that required a softer approach.

The fatherly approach.

Antenna flicking as I observed the white rat rubbing her eyes and whiskers furiously, the red porphyrin still dripping down her angular face, the white rats earlier words about hugs came to mind.

Something didn't feel right about her saying she would no longer hug me, that was something a farther would not allow to pass unchallenged, even if my parental actions were mostly only done with the intention of better maintaining control over my little ratty friend.

The time was now to correct that flaw, a good father would never let that statement stand, even a false one.

Closing in on Roulette I said in a tender voice, bringing my frontmost foreleg to bare as I gently stroked the disturbed fur of her head.

"It is ok, I am not mad anymore," I sighed, calmly beginning to comb the disheveled fur into its sleeker prime, "You just got carried away and forgot yourself."

I brought my long body in closer and sat next to Roulette, still combing her hair into a more becoming appearance, "Just be sure not to forget in the future, I dont-"

I stopped for a second having to force myself to continue, I did not enjoy being contained or coraled without my own consent.

"I don't mind," I forced out calmly, " Hugs, I just would prefer if you asked me first before you do so," I added, "It would make me much happier and willing to oblige in the future."

Having almost completely unfurled herself Roulette's eyes were still moist with porphyrin, but she was much more composed and the shuddering and hiccups had almost entirely ceased.

My soothing touch must have done it.

Looking up at me from her sprawled position, wide red eyes glistening Roulette said in a trusting if quavering voice.

"O- ok daddy can I have a hug now, please?"

The question was sudden and the content unexpected, the genuity in the rat's voice was unmistakable

'So soon!' I thought a little taken aback at her forwardness, not really having planned on her invoking my own words so swiftly.

But they were my words and I felt obligated to fulfill them.

"Right now?!" I asked reluctantly, eyeing her clawed hands which could restrain the smaller me easily and that had almost crushed the life out of me earlier.

"Yes, please," Roulette sniffled, the moisture in her eyes taking on more of a hopeful sheen as her claws reached out tentatively.

"O- of course, I don't mind right now," I lied through my clenched mandibles, I didn't really want to get embraced like that again so soon but my own words were constraining me.

In a jerky manner, I shifted over to Roulette, waiting for the inevitable crushing pressure that would soon restrain me again, I would have been closing my eyes if I were able in fearful anticipation, but having no eyelids that was impossible and I was forced to watch every movement as Roulettes reaching ratty claws slowly drew closer, the white rat standing on her hind legs as she did so.

It would happen any second now.

And it did, but it was a little different from last time.

More gently than previously, Roulette hoisted me up by my middlemost segment before carefully pulling me towards her chest as I faced outwards my crested back pressed to her chest allowing me to easily see as she held me like a treasured teddy bear.

She was not crushing me forcefully to her body like earlier or restricting my movements, if I wanted, I could easily wriggle free.

Not being occupied with struggling to breathe or avoiding death by an invasion of personal space, I was able to notice things I overlooked from my prior 'hug' session.

It was a pleasant surprise.

Roulette's heat radiated off her soft fluffy body warming up my normally room temperature carapace to a comfortable level, being a simple invertebrate my own metabolism was largely useless at producing heat and while being cold would not harm me it was not pleasant either.

I hung limply in Roulette's claws soaking up the warmth I rarely had the opportunity to feel, my sewers were always the same temperature, chilly but never freezing, it never being warm like this, why had the rat not started with this instead? Roulette's body heat was the perfect temperature, it almost made me want to take a nap.

I felt some of that tension leave my rigid body as Roulette's warmth permeated me and likewise, I felt the last of Roulette's own stress ease out of her as she began swaying back and forth while clutching me to her chest, her eyes closed shut in subdued happiness.

I looked up with my unblinking eyes at my ratty familiar, It seemed she had already forgiven me, it was good she was easily pacified, my own anger had already long since dried up, and I was no longer displeased with Roulette, the system or myself anymore.

I was a good father, and that was how I planned to keep things for now.

For almost an entire minute Roulette simply hugged me to her chest while humming a soundless tune through the mental link I shared with all my familiars.

It would have likely been discussed by some to be a very zen moment, and I might have lingered if I were not shortly reminded of the other's presence.

I swiveled my head, hearing a snort and turning towards it, my gaze came eye to eye with a lightly grinning Lescar who was trying to hold back a snicker.

And failing miserably at it.

Lescar burst out chortling and I felt a sudden desire to be put down, Dwayne was staring at Lescar blankly not understanding what Lescar found so funny and Dewey didn't seem to notice.

'Everything I did was always strictly professional,' I told myself forcefully ignoring my own desire to remain clasped to Roulette's fluffy warm body, I had things to do and plans to fulfill, my ambitions had priority.

"Roulette I think that's enough for now," I said almost reluctantly as I slipped out of the rat's claws, my mind changed a little about how terrible hugs were.

Roulette's whiskers drooped slightly but otherwise, Roulette responded in a positive voice.

"Ok daddy," Roulette said simply, the tears on her face dried up, the rat returned to her normally upbeat self.

I had reversed the damage I inflicted and even strengthened my ties, things were looking good.

Now it was a good time to collect myself and share my plans with my minions.

I smoothly trotted over to Lescar who was now definitely smiling at me.

'Again, what was she so happy about?' I thought, deliberately ignoring the possibilities.

"What is it?" I asked with a brisk tone.

"Oh- nothing," Lescar blinked the wide smile sliding off her face as she said that, but not quite as a slight upturn of her lips was still visible.

"Hmmph," I grunted feeling somewhat judged as I crawled up her leg to rest on her shoulder, my new decided perch, it would become my mainstay now that I was so small that I could no longer easily defend myself.

And something that would also make logical sense for my new reformed plan for infiltrating the surface.

Upon Lescar's shoulders securely, I spoke.

"Familiars of mine, gather round for I have plans and you need to hear them."

The creatures that were my own stood to attention, even Dewey's eyestalk straightened up.

I looked down at my familiars from Lescar's shoulders, eyeing each of them individually feeling something well up inside me.

Dwayne, my greatest warrior, my go-to muscle, and my most loyal follower.

Dewey, my fastest-growing minion, my most curious ball of slime, my silent sludge.

Roulette, my swift striker, my vicious blade storm, my cheerful daughter...

And finally Lescar... I turned my head to regard my first familiar.

The most critical piece in everything to come, Lescar was my very own pet project and undertaking as well as my partner in this operation.

I had promised her that much.

Each familiar would play a role in the times to come and each would help me achieve my ambitions.

And oh, I had ambitions...

"Dwayne," I intoned "why don't you drag over that human corpse over there, It has something we are going to need to leave these sewer halls."

'So very many things to do,' I whispered to myself as Dwayne dragged the human corpse with vials strapped to it over.

But it would all be worth it.

Taldur's Jaws split open, he was grinning as best as a Cockroach could.