Just the information Jelin had gotten from using [Inspect] on so many bats would have made the trip worth it in his eyes.  Not only did he see a few new evolution options, he got to see pretty much the whole range of growth stages from 'Child' to 'Adult'.  It made some of the things Sapphire had told him before more clear.

'Nascent', which seemed to come after 'Young', went from 'Least' to 'Grand' instead of just 'Lesser' to 'Greater'.  Half of the bats in the next stage, 'Junior', had modifiers both before and after their species, which indicated that it was at that stage where such a thing happened.  About half of the ones in 'Junior' stage and about a quarter of the ones in 'Nascent' stage seemed to be different kinds of bats as well instead of just 'Bat' like the ones in earlier stages.  

As excited as Jelin was about everything he was seeing, he was still sound enough in mind to keep up the wind barrier to hide them.  The girls seemed to be catching quite a few of the bats as well.  Emmy mostly watched behind them and hadn't taken down quite as many but there were enough wrapped up in webs that it would likely be difficult to just carry them all normally.

After about an hour, maybe less, of dealing with and watching the bats, Jelin decided they should try and move.  He couldn't sense any more nearby at the moment so they were all most likely out for the hunt and hopefully wouldn't return for several more hours.  When he had sensed them coming he hadn't been able to tell the exact locations they appeared at, though, since he was able to sense them more as a massive swarm coming from underground and all over.

<Zaer, did any of your drones get taken out or were they all able to hide?>

<A few got unlucky.  Most have survived, though.  Some noticed these creatures coming out of the ground in certain spot, as well.>

<That was my next question and is excellent news.  Let's head towards the nearest one, then.  I'll try to keep up the barrier just in case, but I think we should be okay for a little while.  We...should probably leave our captives here for now as well.>

Zaer had a few drones come back to where they were and watch over their captives while they started moving to the nearest place where the bats had appeared from.  Even following Zaer's directions to the place didn't allow them to find the actual spot so easily.  It took some careful looking around and a little digging before they were able to notice the hole in the ground near a tree's roots.

<Do you think it's worth risking a drone to try and see where it leads to or should we just accept this for now and come back better prepared?>

<I can send in three, each from a different location including this one, without too much worry as long as we do not plan to stay the full night.>

<Okay, let's do that then.>

Moments later, a bee drone appeared and flew down the hole.  Zaer seemed to be concentrating so Jelin tried to not interrupt her while they waited.  Seeing it as a chance instead, he started working on something he had ignored for a long time: clairvoyance.  He pushed his psi down below them and tried to use it to see.  He didn't find anything he would like to call success but it was still something to experiment with and work on while he waited.

Emmy seemed to kind of understand what he was trying to do and decided to give it her own attempt.  Sai was staying vigilant about their surroundings in case the bats came back early and Ell got busy with making something from her webbing.  After about an hour and a half, Jelin gave Zaer the signal to bring her drones back so they could leave in time.

All three drones returned through the same hole they were standing near after another half an hour, and each carried a baby bat monster that was only slightly smaller than them.  Jelin saw that and gave Zaer a questioning look.

<You mentioned that you wanted some.  These seemed to be abandoned and starving as they were left there, so I had the drones bring them back.  There were a few more almost dead already so I only brought back the youngest and healthiest ones.>

<Alright, that works for me.  I'd love to ask about what else was down there but let's go grab our captives and leave the area first.  We can discuss it all once we're back home, anyways.>

They all quickly moved back to where they had left the wrapped up bats and some drones.  Ell immediately showed off her creation, a set of bags with a strap, and how she had designed it especially to hold the wrapped up bats.  While Emmy and Sai helped store their captives across Ell's back, Jelin had her make a smaller and more comfortable version that would fit him for the little babies.

Once they were set and ready, they started moving back towards home.  Jelin held the barrier still for another two hours before finally letting it drop.  They grabbed some more small prey and fed some scraps to the barely visible heads of their captors.  Jelin wasn't sure about how the baby monsters worked and decided to hold off on feeding them just yet.  If they were like normal animals, meat might not be a good idea.

Due to not wanting the babies to die, though, Jelin asked the girls if they would mind just speeding their way home and forgoing sleep for a night.  Only Zaer had any problems with the idea since she could probably do it if it was really necessary but her drones definitely couldn't.  Jelin suggested she send her drones ahead to rest and then let them catch up later while she rested on him as needed.  Emmy also offered her back as a resting place and Zaer gave in, agreeing to the request to push on.

They tried to return a little faster than they had gone out but they also had to constantly check on and be careful of their passengers so their speed wasn't as improved as they might have hoped.  Once the afternoon started to grow late and they knew they were nearing home territory, Jelin send a request that Clare, Sapphire, and perhaps Mel meet them coming in.

Sapphire was the only true born monster and could likely tell him things he needed to know about the differences and similarities between born monsters and other creatures.  Clare was a healer and would likely be able to help keep their passengers in better health.  He thought Mel might want to be included as a 'Mother' and 'Broodmother' as well as just meeting him as soon as possible.  He left the offer open to anyone else who wanted to meet them as well but felt those three should be there to help soonest.

A few hours later and into evening, they saw the tall webs that marked his territory and the three he had asked to them standing out in front of them.  Jelin had already been explaining the situation through the link and he hoped that either Clare or Mel had passed it on somewhat to Saph.  

As they finally approached the waiting party, he saw the worried looks on both Clare's and Saph's faces but Mel looked unhappy and distraught.  Jelin kind of wanted to ask what was wrong right then but he had a feeling that it wasn't about their current predicament, so he decided to focus on the more current issue first.

<Hello.  So, sorry if I'm just jumping straight into this in a hurry, Saph, but you're the only true born monster here and that kind of makes you the expert.  Some monsters seem to be so similar that they could even be called near identical early on to some non-monsters, at least in a physical way.  Like yourself and a regular fox. 

Are there major differences to be concerned about?  For instance, non-monster bats need their mother's milk or a similar substitute as far as I remember.  Do these monster versions also need to go through that or are they more or less hardy in some way?>

<This would often be considered common sense, I believe.  However, I understand the source of your confusion and the problem.  My apologies for not realizing sooner how such a small difference as being dungeon born and dungeon created would have made.  Since it is a problem that would also someday affect my own sister, I will try to consider other similar things for the future.

As for your current problem, although there are some rare instances where exceptions could be the case, you may consider monsters and non-monsters the same or similar at the earliest stages.  In many ways, you could even consider us monsters as more fragile.  Although our growth works differently than the time based ways of non-monsters, the actual maturity tends to be much the same.

The problem with monsters is that as they grow stronger, they tend to become less fertile.  The evolutions also cause accrued changes that make a more massive difference compared to the young.  This is a big part of the reason the 'Mother' evolution is so coveted among the intelligent monsters.  Another one that is typically found to be nearly as useful but even harder to gain would be 'Caretaker'.>

<I see.  Thanks, that's really helpful to know.  So, do you think we'll be able to save these children here?>

<Hmm.  It might be difficult without their mothers.  I don't suppose you were able to capture them as well?>

<No.  These were part of a group of abandoned children.  My guess is that their mothers died while out hunting.  From what Zaer told me, I doubt we could have saved most of them.  These were the healthiest of the youngest ones with the best chances.  Think maybe Clare's healing could at least help?>

<I would actually keep that as a last resort, were I you.  The healing may cause their bodies or cores to consume more energy and them to die sooner.  You said you knew of similar creatures in your old world and how to care for them to some extent, yes?>

<I didn't outright say all that but it was slightly implied, yes.  I'm not sure if we caught any nursing mothers, though.  Clare, could you start looking at the ones that Ell has with her and see if there are any nursing mothers?  If any of them are producing milk, that would be best for these little ones.>