Rythica glanced around, taking in the platform and its immediate surroundings. The most obvious thing she noticed was the small cage. Unlike her previous holding cell, this one was far too small for her to fit inside; instead, it was occupied by a small bowl of freshly cut meat. Her antennae twitched at the smell and her senses honed in on her new objective. While she was currently a bit too full to eat anything, the gesture was more of a symbolic victory. Especially now. Taking food from her prey to weaken them during a hunt was a matter of principle. She immediately strode over to the cage to inspect it. As expected, she would have to work for her prize. The entrance was sealed with two separate doors, layered in sequence. She tried rattling the obstructions, but they were tilted in such a way that she couldn't get a good grip on them.

  With mild disappointment, she moved on, eager to finish this game as quickly as possible.

  Directly ahead there were two trays, one red and one blue, suspended by strings. The strings trailed up and through a hook high above, before looping back down and attached to one of the blockages. She had an inkling that the trays were somehow used to open the doors, but wasn't confident. She approached the red tray and tried poking it. The plate, barely larger than her fist, swung gently but was otherwise unaffected. She stared at the tray, trying to unlock its secrets by sheer force of will. When said secrets failed to manifest, she gave up.

  Around her were several colorful blocks, each with a different symbol on them. Picking one up, it had a strange weight to it, heavier than the ones in her nest. The character on the block was one she hadn't seen before, a "4." She picked up another wooden cube, dropping the first. This one was a bit lighter than the previous, much to her surprise. What did that mean? She tried biting it for good measure, but it had the same terrible taste all wooden shapes had. She checked the symbol on this one, a "3," but the strange image was without meaning. She went from block to block, examining them. There were five in total, imprinting the symbols "1", "2", "3", "4", and "6", with the last block being significantly heavier than the others. Once more, she was unable to deduce the rules of the game through willpower alone.

  On a hunch, she carried one of the blocks to the closest tray, the red one. Glancing between the two objects, she shrugged and dropped the cube on the disk. The string jiggled a little, but nothing more. She frowned at the contraption. Did the tray not like this symbol? Well, might as well try them all. She retrieved the remaining blocks, one in each hand, and dropped them all onto the plate at once. This time, there was a change. The tray dropped down, pulling the string, and lifting the corresponding door.

  She rushed over to investigate. Sure enough, only one barrier remained. She was on to something! She gleefully rushed back to the blocks, confident in her success. The expert problem-solver retrieved all the blocks from the red tray and swiftly loaded down the blue one before scurrying back to the cage. The second door was indeed open, but much to her confusion, the first had closed.

  Eh? Her head flicked between the trays and the doors, trying to make sense of the odd outcome.

  Bewildered, she headed back to the red tray and pondered. After a moment, the confused girl placed a hand on it and pushed down. The tray moved and, as she watched, the first door was once more agape.

  Finally! With both doors open, she dashed forward, only for the gate to slam closed with a soft clang before she was even halfway there. She hissed under her breath, stomping back to the tray and glaring at it. What did this game want from her?!

  Rythica was assuming that both trays needed to be down for the cage to be fully open and permit access to her bounty. However, she couldn't be the one pushing them down, otherwise, they'd return the instant she let go. The blocks held the tray down, but they were all being used. What was she supposed to do?

  The vex scratched at a piece of peeling skin on her leg. Gah, shedding was always so itchy!

  She huffed and investigated the pile of blocks once more. She picked one up and stared at the weird "2" symbol, trying to make sense of it. She flipped it, twisted it, analyzed every corner, but found nothing of value. Belatedly, she realized she was holding one of the blocks, and yet the blue tray was still down. She blinked, grinned, and dropped the block onto the empty red tray, smug in her overflowing genius.

  The tray remained raised.

  She deflated, clacking her mandibles in irritation. That's right, she already tried this before. The tray didn't like this block, it seemed. She went back and grabbed another block, the one marked "3." When the blue tray failed to climb, she transferred the cube to the red tray. No change. She picked up another block, the "6," but this time, the blue tray lifted as soon as she removed the weight. She frowned and placed the block back. She tried lifting another block, the "4," and the tray lifted once more. She tried the last block, the "1," and thankfully the tray remained lowered. It didn't matter in the end, as transferring the block failed to elicit any reaction from the red tray.

  Rythica grabbed a block at random and hurled it at a random wall, hissing violently. Why did only some blocks lower the platforms but not others?!

  A realization dawned on her. She was overthinking this. With all haste, the vex grabbed the blocks still on the blue tray and shifted them over to the red. Predictably, the gates switched, with the closest one now wide open. Quickly swiping up the block she had just thrown, she rushed back over to the metal grate and shoved the block under it. Then, in a show of her inner puzzle mastery, she transferred all of the blocks on the red tray back to the blue one, opening the second grate. The first grate tried to fall, but the wooden cube prevented its descent. With a peal of maniacal laughter, Rythica skipped over to the cage and pushed her claws inside, recovering the bowl.

  Mission accomplished.

  With deliberate smugness, she glanced over to the predator-turned-prey in the distance, and unhurriedly tipped the bowl over, dumping its contents all over the floor. Still holding the bowl out at shoulder height, she casually dropped it before licking the juices off her fingers. She chirped happily.

  Julia wore the mortified expression of a mother who had just witnessed their child commit several unrepentant social atrocities in front of an important guest. Randell, on the contrary, was unfazed by the messy taunt. He had expected it, even, in some variation.

  For the last few minutes, the affectionate caretaker had been whispering her concerns about Rythica's odd behavior; her sudden, seemingly inexplicable anger towards Randell, randomly pretending to be wounded, then standing up and acting as if everything was fine. He had nodded along to her hushed tones, not saying anything. He didn't need to. Neither of them had to be an expert in vex psychology to read the thoughts racing through the little terror's head. She wore her expressions on her sleeve, and her intentions were as clear as freshly polished crystal. The aged gentleman simply let the woman vent and fret while concerning himself with his own poignant emotional turmoil.

  He watched, dispassionate, as the child blew even his most optimistic predictions; not only puzzling out the objective of the test but simply cheating her way to victory in a fraction of the time it would have taken any other specimen that had ever passed through his private laboratory.

  Specimen.

  That word didn't apply anymore, did it?

  He chided himself for his hubris. He never should have bought that damn egg. Let this have been someone else's moral dilemma. Was he a cruel man for the way he treated a sapient being? Or would his cruelty arise from letting such a monster grow like a weed in his garden, smothering the life out of all within its reach? For, that's exactly what he would be doing.

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  The old researcher lowered his book slowly. He didn't need it anymore. He had his answer. Rythica was everything he feared she would be.

  A person.

  His hands shook, slightly.

  Ah, and he had pissed off that petty creature something fierce, hadn't he? He deserved that spite, he supposed.

  That was the thing about the vex. They were quick to anger and were infamous for their multi-generational grudges. There was a famous story from the past of a well-established vex hive, one spanning dozens of kilometers in every direction, supporting hundreds of queens and tens of thousands of drones. The swarm gained their infamy after allegedly isolating and sieging a city for five entire decades, purposely drawing out the eradication of their enemies just so the leaders could watch their families and friends die over and over and over again until they inevitably died due to natural causes. Then, and only then, did the hive allow the settlement to know silence. The exact details of the story were lost to time, and different retellings of the story always argued over the exact cause of this intense loathing, but the truth was buried somewhere between the pages.

  Randell watched as the young vex tyrant soiled the floor with blood and viscera. He felt sick to his stomach. Somehow sensing his unease and nausea were unrelated to the discarded beef scraps, Rythica scowled at him. Ah, another slight added to the pile.

  "I see." His words were without tone or inflection. He wrote nothing in his book and took no measurements. He simply stared.

  Julia had rushed over with a rag to clean up the blood, scolding the irate vex who briefly turned her anger on the nanny. He barely noticed. He felt numb.

  "Well, I believe I shall bring today's activities to a close. I find myself feeling rather exhausted."

  Mechanically, he reached into his pocket and retrieved the Essence Reader, more out of habit than a conscious decision. He held it idly, confused for an instant how it appeared in his hand. He closed his eyes, took a deep, somewhat shaky breath, and collapsed onto a cheap wooden chair. The room was silent for a moment before his notebook unceremoniously dropped onto a nearby desk, landing with a loud slap that echoed in the tense atmosphere.

  "Miss Julia, would you kindly scan her for me?" The device was already out. Might as well use it.

  She nodded and accepted the apparatus and turned towards the girl.

  The clever vex noticed Julia's intention and shook her head furiously, pointing at the device, and then back at Randell. That got an eyebrow raise out of him, and a self-deprecating smirk. So, that was her plan after the wounded-animal stunt failed, huh? He had to admit, he was genuinely impressed. Everything she had done today had easily overwhelmed him. Just how shrewd were these fearsome little buggers?

  he thought. If her blood ran red instead of black, how far would she have climbed? Or was it that black blood that made her so special? He stared at his hands, his eyes unseeing.

  "I believed myself a man of science and reason. One to test every theory before denying it. One to make decisions and based on my findings." He glanced up at the small vex, still pointing at him.

  "...Master Randell?"

  Rythica gave the nanny a confused chirp, as if unsure why she was addressing him in a concerned tone. Randell hadn't quite worked out how the princess saw the two of them, but he suspected she saw Julia as a fellow hive queen, and himself as an enemy predator.

  Randell ignored both of them, continuing with his monologue. "But... What is a man to do when he realizes the child before him will one day raze cities and slaughter by hundreds?"

  Julia's expression of concern morphed into a mirror of the horror she had directed towards Rythica several minutes prior, only this time, an order of magnitude more intense.

  "What are you saying?!"

  There was a bone-weary sigh before his eyes finally focused, pausing to gather his thoughts.

  "I'm... sorry, Rythica... I've kept you in a cage since the day you hatched. You've never seen the sun or the sky. You've never seen another of your kind. I've fed you scraps; leftovers from the kitchens after they finished cooking my meals. I've experimented on you. I've locked you up to muzzle you and keep your existence a secret. I don't regret that. You're dangerous. One day, you're going to hurt people. A lot of people. And they, in turn, will hurt you back. Far, far worse. And for that, I'm sorry." He looked away. "Yet, even now, I can't bring myself to grant you mercy; to spare the blood that will surely drench your palms one day. I'm sorry I'm a coward... One that would see cities burn to keep my own hands clean."

  The slap that followed seemed to shake his very soul. He blinked, opening and closing his mouth for a moment to check if the woman had She hadn't, but it stars-damned felt like it. He gradually turned to face her as both he and Rythica gaped at Julia.

  Julia merely glared at her boss, her eyes promising unending firey retribution for to talk about her charge in such a manner. She didn't need to say anything. Despite being her employer, he shriveled like a grape under that overbearing heat.

  Rythica began to clap energetically, even doing a few little hops and making a shrill happy sound of some kind. That was a mistake, as Julia's motherly instincts kicked in. She walked over to the suddenly confused vex and bonked her on the head.

  Julia crossed her arms and frowned at the two. She scoffed.

  She pointed at Randell. "You need to grow the hell up and get your act together. Don't you talk about her like that again. You wanna act immature? I don't give a damn how many wrinkles or white hairs you have, I'll bend you over my knee and spank you like a child until your ass is as red as the dawning sun."

  Julia whirled and pointed her ire at Rythica, disregarding the fact the toddler couldn't actually understand her. "And , I don't know what's gotten into you, but it's going to end right here, and right now. We do hurt people. We do not in seeing other people hurt. You hear me? I don't care if you think you're the queen of your own little imaginary hive. I don't care if you believe the nameless masses should worship the ground you step on. It ends, . Or so help me, I'll spray you with that water mister until my fingers fall off."

  Rythica wore an expression of absolute betrayal as if she had just discovered the foundations of her entire universe were built upon pillars of sand. She whimpered, holding her head in confusion, abruptly without any allies in this world.

  Randell scraped up what pathetic scraps of his dignity he could find spoiled and shriveled up in a dusty corner, and stood, clearing his throat.

  "Ah, y-yes, Miss Julia. I... merely lost myself for a moment. I apologize."

  "Don't let it happen again."

  "Of course, Miss Julia."

  She sighed. "I know you're concerned. I understand why. But I believe that people are more than their birth."

  He was clearly still unsatisfied, his expression radiating disagreement, but he refrained from commenting further. The man ambled over and retrieved his equipment, his mood still somber, but it was no longer a moping spiral.

  The nanny gave her employer one last glance before turning away. She approached Rythica and gently placed her hand on the girl's head, rubbing it. She spoke in a much softer tone, but still firm.

  "I know you don't understand, but I'm trying to help you. Okay?"

  Rythica was not in the mood for such reassurances and responded with a loud hiss, accompanied by the violence Julia had sadly expected. Her claws racked across the thick leather of the gloves, but Julia pulled her hand away before Rythica tried anything further.

  Julia, looking Rythica straight in the eye, hissed back, and held her hand up as if to bonk her again.

  Rythica hissed. Julia hissed.

  Rythica swiped, Julia bonked.

  This exchange went on for a few more minutes before Rythica finally settled with a death glare, a pout, and a promise of vengeance.

  The caretaker sighed and placed her gloved hand back on Rythica's head, ruffling her hair. She pulled out a familiar bribe and dangled it in front of the aggravated girl. The treat had far less effect than it once might have, but Rythica still accepted it.

  "Please, Rythica, let me help you, okay? I know you're confused, baby, but this is for your own good. Trust me, okay?"

  She began to rub her thumbs in small, soft circles on the girl's head in a manner she had used to comfort her own children many years prior. The fire didn't leave her eyes, but her tension eased somewhat. Julia knew the girl would spend the next few weeks, perhaps months, enacting petty revenge, but that was fine. Julia could take it, and the girl would grow to understand with time.

  Julia wouldn't let her become the monster Randell feared she would be. She knew there was a beating heart buried in there, under all that chitin.

  She would bet her life on it.

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