Chapter 559 Picking up something Id rather no (1/2)
”Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaait!”
I won't. I'm running for it. With a great leap, I fly into the air, over the heads of the ant-robed people and crash back down to the ground. My legs creak under the strain, but I care not, forcing myself to sprint as soon as I can.
”WAIT FOR ME, GREAT OOOOONNNEEE!!!”
It's not happening, you mad priest. I barely talk to you and now people are wearing strange robes and following me around like secret service. A few more conversations and you'll have newborn babies dressed up as larvae, and people will start trying to carry me around on a palanquin or something… Actually the baby thing sounds cute…
No! I'll be strong! DAs.h.!.+
I kick up a huge cloud of dust and just like that, I leave the humans and Beyn floundering in my wake as I run for the hill. The sweet mana, it calls to me! As do the more reasonable behaviours of my family members. I'd rather talk to Leeroy than exchange words with that nutty priest. My time in the town was certainly interesting, and it's nice to know that the Colony still has a strong ally in Enid, even if some of the more recent arrivals don't look quite as favourably on us. I can't help but feel a little disgruntled about that. Who saved all their lives, bore the brunt of the horde attack, and is even helping them build their town to this very day? Sheesh.
I speed back to the nest with Crinis still attached to my carapace, plunging into the welcome dark the moment I can. The sweet blue light of mana infuses my body and I breathe a sigh of relief as the drain from my core slows significantly. With constant application of external mana manipulation, it's possible for me to slowly replenish my reserves in the first strata, a thought which unwinds the unconscious knot of tension in the back of my head.
Walking around with mana leaking from your core is almost like a human taking a trip down the streets whilst bleeding from an open vein. Your very life energy is slowly dripping out of you as you try and ignore it and concentrate on other things but it's always there, the sense of impending death prodding away at your mind. I'm not a fan. Which is why I was happy enough to come back here in a hurry, even though there's something I have to do now that I've been avoiding for a long time.
Moving much slower now, I make my way through the nest, trying to make s.p.a.ce for the many hatchlings and others that I share these more cramped tunnels with. Those tricky flickers in my Vestibule have returned, but I ignore them for the moment. I need to concentrate on this task, she deserves my full attention.
Pus.h.i.+ng ever deeper into the nest, I make my way to the brood chambers, where hundreds of pupae line dozens of chambers, each lovingly cared for by their brood tenders. In the centre of these lies the egg chamber, where several immature Queens now reside in what used to be Mother's room.
”h.e.l.lo, all!” I greet them. ”Hope things are going well. I've seen the designs for the new nests and they're absolutely out of control, you'll love them.”
”Eldest!” They cry in surprise.
”Just pa.s.sing through, came to pick something up from my old room.”