Feb 18 Update: I only updated the breaks in the lines so nothing new. Sorry :/

Darren starred up into the night sky on the wooden battlements of the gate as he thought about how the day had passed by. Hectic wouldn't even begin to describe what had happened. First, he discovered what the first evolution gave him and his Swarm, next he fights an Alpha Wildling by blindly crashing into it, then to top it all of he finally meets the villagers of Counter. He wasn't sure what to expect from the villagers but, he decided that overall it went well.

-After the Rock Eater's death-

Well this is awkward, was the first thought that manifested Darren's head when he was introduced to the villagers. All the people had started staring at him the moment he walked through the gates of Counter. Darren's entrance was met with complete silence by the people as Jack spoke to the villagers.

"Everyone, I'd like you all to meet Magi Darren Miller of the Summoning School of Magic, or simply Darren as he prefers to be called. This one was the person who helped save our village with the wave of creatures like Ace and Bandit earlier." As Jack finished the short introduction, the whispers started.

"This guy's a Magi? He looks weird."

"You hear what Jack said? He said the Magi controlled those beasts earlier!"

"I thought Magi wear robes? He's wearing armor like those creatures."

"What's he going to for now? You think he's gonna demand something?"

"He's probably gonna demand fealty or something. Heard Magi do that or something?"

"What if he's a wildling like those things outside? We don't know if he's even human."

It was at this point that Darren realized that he had never taken off his "helmet" without also taking off the armor since the evolution earlier. He wasn't exactly sure how to as well since the armor was really an exoskeleton of extremely tough organic bone that had been improved over time. Also, it was kind of stuck to him.

As the whispering from the villagers continued, Darren's hands moved to the side of his head. He, for lack of a better word, "willed" the helmet to come off his head without sinking back into his skin. The villagers noticed his movements and stopped their whispering in favor of watching the newcomer reveal himself to them.

The helmet came off and revealed a young-looking man with foreign features, a surprise to many of the people. Magi were taught magic at a young age as apprentices, but, a fully-fledged Magi was usually at an older stage of life after learning all they could from their respective school and master. Thus, it was unusual to hear, much less see, a Magi who had mastered their spells so effectively.

Of course, Darren wasn't exactly a Magi, but the villagers didn't need to know about that. They could speculate all they wanted without Darren explaining too much of his abilities.

"My name is Darren Miller," he said in a calm manner that he didn't feel, "Thank you for letting me in."

-Present-

Really it could have gone worse, Darren thought as he examined his helmet. It was strange now that he focused on it a little more thoroughly than his initial examination on his whole armor set before. His helmet felt like a separate limb in a way. Instinctively he knew that even if his helmet was on the other side of the world right now, he could still feel it until he decided to cut the connection with a quick mental order.

A shout broke his focus and he turned to look at the celebration that was happening in the village center. A large bonfire was just lit in the middle of the area was towering high into the night with the villagers giving a cheer and dancing around it. The celebration for the survival of the village had started recently with the people being quite ecstatic about the recent events.

Darren looked around and saw that the Wildling corpses that had been collected by the villagers earlier had been prepared for a feast. Thankfully, Darren had collected some of the Wilding's himself with the help of the zerglings still in the forest after introductions had been made. While some of the villagers had remained wary of him even after revealing himself to them, a majority had calmed down to hear him out.

The consensus around the village, Jack being a huge support, was that Darren deserved some sort of reward for helping to save them from certain death. Usually this would come out to be a hefty bag of gold coins, the common accepted currency between the major players like the Elves and Dwarves, or some magi crystals, what most Magi would go for. Darren however turned down the magi crystals, he had a whole cave full anyway, and most of the gold in exchange for a few of the Rock Eater corpses that littered the front of the village.

When asked why he said it was for, "research purposes".

The toughness of the Rock Eater Wildlings was extraordinary and if an Alpha Wildling was tough on its own, then what could it mean to fight an Omega, a Demi, or, if he was unlucky, a Deity Wildling? While a large part of Darren was telling him to not intentionally find big monsters and piss them off, there was still some part that wanted to do the complete opposite. Which brought him to a question that he had stuck at the back of his mind for quite a while.

How the hell was he dealing with all this so calmly?

Sure, he could rationalize that he was always a cool-headed person since the beginning, but there should still be some sort of reaction to being "reborn". He could count exactly the amount of times he was shocked by this place all on one hand, and that included the times when he went, huh, at something. Looking around at the celebration, Darren spotted Jack and Miranda dancing near the bonfire along with Angie and Chloe playing with Ace and Bandit. Seeing how the family was enjoying themselves brought up memories of his parents back home.

I wonder how they're doing right now. It has been some time since I . . . died. Wonder how everyone's doing about now. Darren felt that he should care about what happened or how anyone back on Earth would react to his death, but he couldn't exactly bring himself to care. Maybe it was the fact that he was Zerg now or maybe it just wasn't hitting home yet that he died. Though, with the fact that his biology changed, he was betting on the first assumption.

On that line of thought, he began to focus on the bond between himself and the rest of the Swarm, finding that it was quite simple to do, like instinct. Darren didn't notice it earlier before when he was inspecting himself, but the connection between himself and his Swarm became stronger than when he first awoke. He felt more in tune with his Swarm than before and Darren could get a general sense of what his Zerg felt. The only downside of being that sometimes he forgot where his original body was as he was still new to looking through another creature's eyes, though with practice Darren was sure he could keep up.

"Mr. Darren," a timid voice called to Darren making him turn toward Angie followed by Ace and Bandit, "You look sad."

-Earlier in the day-

When Angie had first met Darren personally, Ace and Bandit had ran towards him like a pair of long lost pups to their master that nearly knocked him over in their rush. Darren had earlier been touring the village with the help of Jack until they had bumped into Jack's family where Darren was finally introduced to Miranda, Chloe, and Angie. It was slightly surreal for the family to see the two zerglings so affectionate towards a stranger as while Ace and Bandit were friendly to them, they also acted in a stoic fashion to those they had not met at first. Although it made sense to them later once Darren explained to the family that the two zerglings were part of his creatures while also giving a basic summary of what they were.

When Darren was finished explaining though, while the family seemed a bit disappointed, Angie seemed especially crushed at hearing that Ace and Bandit originally belonged to Darren. He decided to nip this problem in the bud.

"Angie," Darren said gaining her attention while settling on a knee to get at eye level, "you seem a bit sad. What's the matter?"

She looked down and mumbled an answer too low for Darren to hear. Her mother Miranda walked to Angie and put a hand on her head.

"Dear, speak up," Miranda said kindly to her second daughter. Angie gave Darren a stare.

"You're here to take Ace and Bandit. I want them to stay."

"Angie," Chloe said in a authoritative tone, "we can't just keep another person's pet."

"But I found them in the forest! They're my friends! I-"

"When did I ever say I was taking them back with me?" Everyone looked towards Darren who was still on one knee. Angie looked at Darren with wide eyes.

"You not taking them?" Angie said in a soft tone slightly in disbelief.

"They look happy enough here," Darren spoke in an equally as he patted the two zerglings, "I don't see a reason to come back yet. Besides, you're taking good care of them in my stead. I'll come back for them when I need to."

-Present-

After that short meeting Angie had been friendlier with Darren as he started teaching her about how to care for Ace and Bandit more diligently. In just a few short hours, Darren had made a lasting bond with the excitable young girl as she took to taking care of the zerglings to new heights with her greater understanding of them.

"Don't worry about me Angie," Darren said in reply to her question earlier, "I'm just thinking." Angie sat next to Darren and looked at the stars with him.

"Thinking about what?"

"Home." They stayed silent and listened to the night occasionally interrupted by a whoop from the celebration nearby.

"What are your parents like?" Angie asked.

"They're good people. Dad works with machines and Mom is an exercise fanatic."

"Do you miss them?" Darren looked towards Angie with a raised eyebrow.

"What makes you say that?"

"You looked sad when you looked over at us. Like you missed someone." Darren had to give the credit. She nearly got it.

"Well," Darren started, "I was thinking about my parents, yes. But I'm not sad about not seeing them. I'm more confused on why I don't miss them so much or about going home." Angie just stared at Darren in confusion as if silently asking how he could not miss his parents or his home.

"It's hard to put into words," Darren attempted to explain, "but I feel more at home here than back where I came from." Angie seemed to think on his words before she turned back to him.

"I remember my Dad said he felt better here than before as a soldier one time, so I guess it makes sense for some people." She nodded with a certainty that children did as if they had found all the answers they needed. The two fell into a comfortable silence and enjoyed each other's company until a short rumble was heard from Angie's stomach.

"Hungry Angie?" Darren chuckled at the growing blush on Angie's face.

"Mhm."

"Let's get something to eat then." The two walked back to the celebration with the two zerglings trailing behind them.