Aaaaaa. Why the fuck. Why. Why spring. Okay, calm down, the eggs wouldn't be his. Ugh.

"I still would rather not to run the risk in case my biology is too alien. And, yeah, that's a good enough reason to be suspicious. But I think your species really should work on moving towards cooperation with others. Do you have any... diplomacy with non-bees?"

"Not really," she sighs. "Sometimes we give people honey, but a lot of people are suspicious of the honey too. And I'm sure the Queen would like to move to a more cooperative model, but with the demons taking over the world, she thinks we need to expand our numbers as quickly as possible."

She peers at Teo. "I'm sure you're not too alien; you look just about human, and we can even implant in minotaurs and hellhounds if we really want to. Even if you were, it's just one clutch of eggs. Are you sure you don't want to try? I'd give you some honey for being such a good sport. And you'd be doing me a really big favor..."

"My species is really attached to babies."

"Are you worried you wouldn't be able to give them up when I take them to the Queen? That'd be bad, they need to be fed the proper jelly mixture if they're going to grow up properly."

"I am worried that I would throw myself off a cliff."

She covers her mouth with her hands. "Oh no! I'm sorry for bringing it up, then. Um, do you want some honey? As an apology, or just, you know, because honey's nice..."

"I don't need it as an apology, but I am kinda scared of being morphed into something else. Would you miss it?"

"No, not really, we always make more than we need. If you don't want to turn bee-morph you'll have to get it purified by an alchemist, but even regular honey's useful for a lot of things."

"Oh, good to know. What is your name? I don't know if there is anything I can do to help you in the future, but maybe I will think of something."

"I'm Jasmine. Well, technically I'm Jasmine 113-C, but if you say 'an envoy named Jasmine' everybody'll know who you mean. -I'm an envoy. Though I might not be in the future, considering what a miserable job I'm doing of it... maybe you should remember the 113-C part too."

Nod. "I am Dateovont Moro. Or just Teo."

"It was nice to meet you, Teo," Jasmine says. She hands him a glass bottle of honey. "I should get back to the hive."

"Thank you," he accepts the bottle. "Good luck in the future."

"You too!"

She buzzes off.

"They've really lowered their standards since my day," Enserric comments when she's out of earshot. "I remember bee-maidens who could talk a minotaur into becoming a brood-slave."

Teo pats the sword. "It's okay, no need to get jealous."

"Hah!" the sword mutters.

"Anyway, just to be sure, was she telling the truth?"

"Oh, yes. I was once hypnotized into bearing beefolk eggs by one of the aforementioned competent handmaidens; the initial implantation is overwhelmingly pleasurable, the laying likewise, and the intervening period only mildly unpleasant. I'd have taken it up recreationally, had I time for recreation."

Are the babies cute?

"I see."

"At any rate," Enserric continues, blithely ignoring Teo's internal monologue, "we should probably return to the cabin and get you some rest. We can do some exploring tomorrow."

"Fair point." Teo hops onto his hover bike and rides back to the cabin.

Enserric wakes him bright and early the next morning. "Rise, Champion, and face the dawn!" he drawls. "For a new day approaches, though the old lies barely in its grave."

Does the sword come with a snooze button? Oh, hell. Fine. Anything in particular planned for the day?"

"Yes, of course. Though some of it depends on your own priorities. We'll start with a magic lesson, then if you feel like learning more meditation, you can go back to the forest and meet up with your mouse friend; afterwards or otherwise, we should explore the lakeshore a bit, and see if we can find that alchemist he mentioned."

"Magic lesson and then exploring. I think getting the lay of the land should be a priority, just to see what low-hanging fruits are out there."