[Lesser Young Mother Mantea]

Clare had a little more of her humanoid self before her mantid self started, similar to Mel, and now had a more human vaginal area before her carapace started.  It was a very slight change and brought a small question to Jelin's mind.  He looked over at Ell and inspected her again before looking up.

<How come the other two changed at the waist and you didn't?>

<Huh?  Ooohh...I did.  It's just not as visible.  It's a lot softer than it was before evolution, though.  You just never tried touching it much.>

<Ah.  I see.  That makes some sense, I guess.>

He still wasn't entirely sure if the changes were affected by mentality or by previous evolutions but at least he was sure that there were some physical similarities to the changes now.  He briefly considered using tactile senses to start checking on the girls after evolution as well but realized it would make it take too much time.  Usually after evolution, everyone wanted to start stretching and move around as soon as possible, himself included, and doubling the time he took to check them out for such a small reason felt too mean.

Ell started humming lightly as she pulled the molt away and Jelin looked over at Mel.  They looked at each other for a few moments before he sighed and nodded, giving a feeling of approval through the link to let her know she could go ahead and evolve as well.  She smiled and ran outside.  He tilted his head a little in confusion as he watched her leave but before he could try to figure it out himself or ask, she returned.

Jelin saw her chewing and a few bugs in her hands and understood that she just wanted some breakfast first.  He chuckled a little and asked if she knew what she wanted already or if he should stay to look things over with her.  She let him know that this time was already decided on but she might not know about the next.  Then she promptly settled down in the evolution spot and took the second she needed to choose.

He felt through the link as Mel's consciousness faded and Emerald's presence approached.  Since he thought he had a few hours still before she arrived, he went to eat breakfast with everyone and then tried to figure out what he should do next.  Ultimately he decided to go spend time chatting with Sapphire.

He found her without too much trouble and they started the talk with him asking how much longer she planned to stay in the sectioned off area.  He wasn't really planning on forcing them to go somewhere else but he had only made the area with the intent of using to help the little fox get over herself.  Now that the little one was enjoying herself with the humans most of the time, he saw no reason for them to stay in the area anymore. 

Sapphire had apparently not quite considered moving.  They hadn't done anything in particular to the area to make it theirs other than finding a few comfortable spots to sleep in.  Jelin suggested sharing the human area.  Ain could use some support with trying to raise the children since she only knew how to prepare them to survive in horrible human society.  The little fox already enjoyed spending time with them, as well, and there was more space than the humans could use in that area.

Sapphire promised to think about and talk to the little fox.  Jelin accepted that and moved the conversation on to asking what she might know about human classes.  Even the small things could be clues to help him.  He started telling her about the things he had found out recently and pause for a moment, mid sentence, making Sapphire tilt her head in slight confusion.

<Welcome back, Emmy.>

Emerald suddenly jumped out from behind a tree while giggling and ran over to him to curl up in his lap.  He smiled at her and started stroking her again as he looked back at Sapphire and continuing his sentence where he left off.  Saph snickered a little but otherwise continued listening to his discoveries.

She didn't have much to add as, though she had encountered plenty of humans before, she had not had many peaceful interactions with them.  There were fights with humans before she was in the dungeon, some fights with humans while in the dungeon in the earlier days, and then her capture.  She gave what observations and such that she could but knew very little overall.

Jelin thanked her, regardless, since even the smallest clue might help at some point.  After that he started asking about her wellbeing and daily life.  He was a little worried that she might be bored or something but wasn't actually sure what she did all day.  She assured he that she was fine, though, and was treating her time as a break for relaxation after her time in the dungeon.

The morning talk was calming and even though there were some important parts he enjoyed his time before the lunch call came.  During lunch, all the girls listened to Emmy's story of what she had seen on her adventure.  Once she had finished, Jelin started thinking about it and decided they should wait until morning before the next person went.

He thought about everything both Kai and Emmy had told him as he helped dig.  When the evening came he finally had a conclusion.  This time a few should go and collect the bones that they knew of after spending about a day looking around.  After they came back, Mel should also be awake and he would go with a few of them to try and collect at least one more set and find the bat creatures.

He was hoping to grab a few as familiars, find a cave, and bring back at least one more set of bones.  He suggested that Clare go on at least one of the trips since he remembered seeing plants he didn't recognize and she might be able to find something she could use to bring back and add to her garden.

Everyone accepted the adjusted plan and started trying to figure out who would be leaving in the morning.  Jelin let them decide among themselves while he relaxed with Emmy in the corner.  He did let Zaer know that when he went he would like her to come as well.  Having her along with a small swarm of her drones would help both with scouting the area and making a map in the future.  

Ell finally pulled ahead in the running to be the primary one to leave in the morning because she would be able to figure out the best way to bring everything back.  Clare threw her lot in so that she could look at the plants this time since the next time might be a little more rushed.  With that, Lei became the last person as it was both a chance to finally get out for a bit and way to see where would be safe for the children in the future.

With the team to leave in the morning decided, they all spent the rest of the evening relaxing and went to sleep a little early.  The three left just after breakfast the next morning and Jelin went back to working on his skills and trying to learn more about the two classes he didn't fully understand.  Being able to change his class to 'Royal' in his status when he wanted seemed like it could have some good uses in the future, at least.

On the other hand, figuring exactly what a formist was and how that worked could also be beneficial someday.  For all he knew, there could be a whole list of classes that had been lost to time or never discovered in the first place.  Having his own list of classes and knowing both what they were and how to get them could prove to be an amazing bargaining chip if he had the opportunity.