I've eaten... I don't know how many spiders, honestly. Ever since that moment a few days ago, Joule hasn't said anything.

I'm still growing slightly, but I don't know how much energy I have, or what I'd put it into even if I did.

"Hey, bud! How're you doing?"

I shiver. I didn't sense Noah approaching at all.

Turning, I simply glare at him, mandibles resolutely shut. It's his fault.

"...You okay, there?"

[No. He's being mean.]

She hijacks my telepathy without my permission.

[I am not being mean! You just don't get it!]

"Uh, wait, what's going-"

[Oh, please. I get that you're irritated, but you don't have to take it out on me!]

[You haven't talked to me in days! Your only purpose in existing is to tell me how much Void energy I have, and what I can use it on!]

"That seems a bit rude. What are you-"

[I know that's how you feel! But I don't have to listen to you. You were mean to me earlier, and you haven't said sorry yet!]

[Sorry?! Why should I be the one to say sorry? None of this is my-]

"ALL RIGHT, THAT'S IT!"

The trees surrounding us are instantly flattened, and the ground begins curling up from the force. An immense pressure builds around me until I can barely move.

"Joule! Activate the telepathic reconstruction protocol and give me the WHOLE STORY."

[Processing...]

A long moment passes, and then the pressure lifts.

I shake violently, trying to get my shell back in place. It feels as though my innards are in the wrong places.

Looking up, I realize Noah has bent down and is only a few feet away from me. His expression is inscrutable, and I brace for the imminent impact, and the words I never fully understand.

"I'm sorry."

My mandibles hang open. What did he just say?

He sits down on the flattened grass and leans back.

"I'm really sorry, actually. When I mutated you, you never asked to be changed. You never asked to be ripped away from your colony and your queen. You didn't want anything past serving your colony, and I get the feeling you still don't. On my part, I didn't consider the personality you were still developing, or the emotions you weren't used to having, or even the fact your entire species has changed. Instead, I just dumped a bunch of abilities on you and left, worried that I was influencing the world too much."

I don't think he's ever talked this much. Joule isn't saying anything either.

"I shouldn't have been worried about how I was influencing the world. I should have been carefully watching you, making sure you were settling in properly, and helping however I could. I plan on doing that, starting with this."

He leaned in closer. His eyes are damp.

"I, Noah Cosmic, henceforth and at this moment grant you a Cosmic Favor."

[WHAT? You can't do that!]

"I know you don't know what that is, so I'll put it bluntly for you. At any point in time, just say my name. I'll appear in front of you regardless of where I am at the time, and you can ask for anything within my power."

I back away slightly. I'd always considered Noah to be a faraway existence, too far out of reach for me to ever get close to. This was more uncomfortable than that feeling.

He stands up and sighs. "Joule, you should know something too."

[You should not have done that.]

"Your host is not a human in an ant body. He's not one of those guys I talked about who died and came back to life as a dog, or a snake, or a dragon. He's literally an ant."

Joule gets very quiet.

"He didn't have a human-level intelligence before I gave him that essence, and he sure didn't know what a Cosmic was. His sole purpose in life was to serve the queen. And here you came, telling him about quantifying and allocation and Void, and he just doesn't know what to do. And I get that he hurt your feelings. I'm not going to try and tell you how you should feel, or how you should act. You're his V.E.A.U. now, not mine, so I'm going to let you do what you need to do."

There's a long silence before anyone talks.

[I'm sorry, Joule.]

"You don't have to say you're sorry, ant."

[I do, though. I was very rude to you. I'm sorry.]

[I'd like to apologize too. I didn't consider you at all - I'm just so used to the Cosmics and their grade of power. I - I was acting very badly.]

There's a silence, but it's not a bad silence. It feels more like everyone had gotten something off their chests.

Noah stretches slightly. "Anyway, I have to get back to the universe I'm watching. The amount of crime on that Earth is just ridiculous. The Favor doesn't have an expiration, by the way. Use it whenever you need it."

A hole appears in the air, rimmed with Void. As he's stepping through, he says, "I sincerely hope you guys end up happy, whatever you decide to do."

And I'm left with Joule once again.