I spent the rest of the day at Sybil's side. With all of my experience in romance coming from short flings as a human, I considered what sorts of subtle ways I could approach her, but the Keel in me scoffed, killed those thoughts before they could hatch, and walked straight up to her.
"Sybil. I'm spending the day with you." I declared.
"Very well, Zaaktif." She flared her frills.
"No, call me Ashlani today." I insisted. When she looked at me with evaluating eyes, I merely grinned widely before leaning down and speaking to the bottom of her belly with [Nurturing Enunciation], "Your mother is refusing to call me by my name. Maybe she forgot?"
I could feel that the words I spoke didn't matter, just that I spoke at all. With a force of effort, I pushed as much of my magic into the [Skill] as possible. It thrummed through the air and settled into Sybil, where I felt the eggs respond to the stimulus. My sonilphon was almost halfway empty after those few sentences, and I continued, "I'll make sure I remember your names. Sybash, Ashlsyb, and Billani."
"Those will not be my children's names." Sybil said as I emptied my sonilphon with wordless humming at the eggs. "I realize that there has never been much thought put into the names you give, and I demand that the names my children are given receive more enduring thought."
"Of course, my Zaaktifi." I grinned as I stood tall and took Sybil into my arms. She sighed as I held her effortlessly. "And, of course, I could never forget my Zaaktifi's name, Syb… Syb… Sybil?"
"Will you release me?" She sighed as she asked.
"No, I don't think I will. Where should I go?"
Sybil grudgingly pointed in the direction that we needed to and I marched off, happily humming to myself, my mate, and my children she carried. Whatever keelish we walked past looked at us as we strode past, but I didn't mind the confused looks on most of their faces. In my entire life as a keelish, I'd been forced to focus entirely on survival, on growing stronger immediately. Now, I had a moment to relax, and I would spend that time how I wanted.
***
As we got to the first destination, Sybil insisted I put her down, so I let her go. Even so, I stayed at her side the entire time, listening as she evaluated the progress of a dozen projects. It had been merely a single day since the keelish from Tala had arrived, but already they were being put to work. That they were already used to being commanded on what to do and where by a khatif was more than enough for a Keel to step in and be obeyed without question.
"If that doth be thy will, then let it be done." The keelish Sybil was commanding replied.
She didn't reply, simply sending him off to speak with one of her subordinates about the details of the construction he was working on.
"Why isn't a khatif in charge of this?" I asked.
"The khatif are working on collecting materials from outside of the city's walls. This initial labor is important, but ensuring we do not have another incident of ants assaulting our home is of greater importance. Thus, one of the less important but more skilled of the keelish has been trusted to lead."
"Makes sense. " I said, picking an ant segment up from nearby. We had thousands upon thousands of corpses, only kept from spoiling by the ever-increasing chill. By running the scales of my palm over the carapace, I scraped the frost off the bit and offered it to Sybil. She reached a hand out to take it, but I pulled it back.
Sybil stared at me.
I didn't blink.
Sybil ground her teeth.
I didn't move.
Sybil sighed.
I grinned in victory.
She opened her mouth and I put the morsel in.
"Was that so hard?" I asked as I prepared another bite for her.
"It was not difficult, but I find your insistence… frustrating."
"I want to be sure that you're eating enough. I've heard that you ran yourself ragged during the war with the ants, and I want to be sure that my children hatch as strong as possible." I flicked my tail, mostly teasing but truly concerned for the welfare of the little ones.
"And you do not trust me?" Sybil's voice inflected dangerously but I didn't hesitate.
"I did not trust you to put your own needs before those of the swarm, and I do not trust you to put your own needs above those of the Empire. If you believe my mistrust to be misplaced, correct me." The teasing attitude I'd held onto bled from my posture as I loomed over my stubborn mate. "I will force you to be healthy and happy since I was gone for so long."
Sybil melted uncharacteristically as I said as much. The fierce set of her shoulders sagged and she leaned into me. She didn't say anything, and I stopped pushing. Instead, I let her lean against me and breathe. I felt the attention of the keelish near us slip away as they moved and gave us space. I felt her heartbeat slow from a slightly agitated thump to a regular bumping. After a mere minute, she pulled back, her breathing, heartbeat, and movements controlled.
"Thank you, Ashlani. I must admit that I felt as if I were failing you when the ants were swarming the city. There was so much going wrong, and it was the moment you stepped away. The only thought that came to me, though I never acknowledged it, was that I had failed you. You could have slaughtered the ants with impunity. You could have thought of a solution, you could have done something faster. I hoped that you would return after we drew away the ants, but, at least you appeared when I created a solution."
I flicked my tail in disagreement as I clacked my teeth together. "The only thing I would have done differently was kill more ants. I suspect I would have made them into a mass of enraged, uncontrollable creatures long before you did. With Joral and Shemira working together, I suppose I could have calmed the ones near the city, but drawing the confused, angry ones away with the giant birds was a master stroke.
"Good job, Sybil. I'm proud of you and thankful for you."
"Thank you, Ashlani." She nodded and then, without further ado, turned and walked out of the space where hundreds of keelish were working to construct more homes.
"There is one more place I would like for you to visit today." Sybil said, and when I arrived, I knew why.