[Hay all! Sorry for the late post! I was busy with our Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend! But here yea be! And hope you all had a great weekend!]

Chapter 10: Ascension

Amun rose early that morning as he usually did and carefully made his way out into the mornings first light. Taking in a breath of fresh air and enjoying a moment of silence to himself. Or so he thought. He felt a few small tails wrap themselves around his ankles and he looked down to see Abby and Thea beneath him. He watched as they both looked up at him and let out soft purrs.

"Good morning you two, did you rest well." He asked.

"Sara kept kicking me, so I didn't rest much." Abby explained as she stretched and yawned. Amun could feel that she was slightly tired. He knew that she had not been resting very much over the past few weeks. He knew that with their natural biology they did not need to sleep for days on end, but he found it better to stick to a human type sleep cycle to make sure they were all well rested. Taking care of a litter of twenty eight was no easy task.

"Sara does tend to move a bit much as she rests, next time just find your way atop my crown." He said as he mentally smiled at her. He felt happiness flowing from her and knew she liked the idea of resting upon him. He looked down at his daughter and noticed her scars that ran across her large domed head. The wounds that she had received from the cougar had healed quickly, but due to their depth, had left noticeable grooves. They had not gone unnoticed by his other daughters as well as Emilia. He had received quite the talking to when she had finally found out about them.

Abby had been given the name 'scared one' from some of her other sisters which did not make her too happy. She did not like the attention. Amun had to explain that they meant nothing by it, that it was only a noticeable uniqueness from everyone else. Amun reached his clawed hand down and stroked her long head. He then looked to his other daughter.

"And you Thea? Having a good morning?" He asked.

"Yes Father, I am. I think I want to go swimming today." She said and she uncurled herself from his ankle to stand in front of his monolithic body.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea. Make sure to not wander off yes?"

"I will father, come Abby, let's go play in the water." And with that, the two took off into the woods, Thea taking off at full speed and Abby attempting to keep up. Amun took the time to stretch and began to feel the rest of his family begin to wake. He kept to his routine and watched as each one of his daughters, and then finally his queen, emerged from their home.

"Good morning my love." He said as Emilia came to sit beside him, she nuzzled her head against his in affection. Amun noticed his first born, Bobby, upon her opposite shoulder.

"Good morning. Did you make the coffee?" She joked.

"God don't even joke about that. I do miss the flavor, don't you?"

"So much, I always loved the vanilla stuff that a local store use to sell. It was one thing that I never forgot after I changed." She said as she remembered the wonderful drink.

"Father," Bobby cut in. " What is coffee?" She asked. Amun laughed and took a moment to find away to explain what it was to someone who had never had it before.

"It is a liquid that humans drink. It has something called caffeine in it that helps wake them up faster." He said, hoping that had made sense.

"O...why don't they just sleep longer? That way they would not need to wake up faster." Amun was at a loss for words, it was the answer to solve the problem of needing coffee. Why then, did most people still need it.

"They use it because they do not sleep much. They attempt to use every moment they can in a day to do as much as they can. So they stay up late and wake up early, needing coffee to help them get back to working sooner." He explained.

"That seems silly, what do they have to do that is so important to miss sleep?" She asked.

"Most of the time it has to do with their jobs in some way, for others it is their family. You have to realize that their life is not as simple as ours. They need to make money to survive, and in their lives, time is money. The more time they use working, the more money they make, the easier their lives become."

"O...that is interesting. Well I am glad that we do not need to do such things, we only need to hunt for food every once in a while." Amun silently agreed with his first born. Other then food every now and then, their lives were peaceful and simple. They spent time talking with one another and playing in the forest. There was not much else too it, but they were all happy. Emilia reached up and took Bobby from her shoulder and placed her upon the ground.

"Run along Bobby, I would like some alone time with your father." Emilia said. Without hesitation, and with a loving purr, their first born took off into the forest to find the rest of her sisters. Amun watched as she took off before he felt the gaze of Emilia upon him. "So have you made up your mind yet?" She asked.

A few weeks ago Amun had mentioned something to her that she had agreed that they needed to do. It was no simple thing, but something they think should happen for their hive to grow. He had put forward the idea of selection a few of their daughters to become Praetorians. Royal guards and protectors of the hive if ever they needed to defend their home. They would be keepers of their family, someone that any of their daughters could look to for support or guidance.

"I think I have. After Bobby rejected the offer I had to look from someone else. It was not too hard to think of someone else really. I think that Scarlett and Rowena will be the best fit, they get along with everyone so well and have the best hunting skills other than Bobby. I think it should be those two." As he explained his decision to his queen, he felt her curl up around him, her tail wrapping around his.

"I could not agree more. When will you ask them?" She calmly asked, almost purring the words.

"Today, if I can. I just need to find the time, they do tend to spend most of their time with company. So it may prove difficult to catch them alone." Which was one of the reason Amun had picked them, a lot of his daughters already saw them as someone to turn to for help.

"Well sooner rather than later, it may take some time because let's face it, we have no idea if this will work. And I would rather not have my daughters stuck in a cocoon for months on end." Amun felt Emilia rest her large head upon his shoulder, rubbing him softly with her jaw. "Are you sure you can help them do this?"

"I believe so. I will also not leave their side until they come out, I promise you." Amun said with a reassuring thrum. He placed his head upon hers in a type of embrace which they both enjoyed. Emilia's one arm came up to stroke his jaw line. They two stayed in each others touch for a short while before the mood was cut-off by the sound of a few of their daughters running towards them. Amun and Emilia looked towards them to see Sara, Brittney and Julie come bolting into view. All three of the drones heading straight towards Amun and leapt towards him. Amun made sure not to move as each one of them landed on various parts of his large body. "My daughters? Come now, what is this all about?"

All three of them responded at once, flustered and upset. Amun only caught a few words through the verbal assault. What made it even harder to focused what that each of his daughters were crawling around him, either pausing to talk to him or chasing one of the others off so they may be heard."Girls, please calm down, one at a time." He said as he reached and plucked Sara and Julie from his head, he felt Emilia grab Brittney from his back and held onto her. He held his daughters gently in his hands and sent them feeling of love and compassion to calm them.

"It was their idea!" Blurted Sara

"It was not!" Came a response from the other two.

"I do not care who's idea it was, I would only like to know what happened?" Amun asked a bit more sternly, wanting an answer. His wish came true, but not in the form he had expected.

"Father..." Came a voice in his mind, another one of his daughters that was approaching. He reached out and knew it to be Bobby. "Where are they." Her words almost made him shutter in fear. They were cold and covered with anger.

"Crap!" All three of the captured drones said when they heard their bigger sister. They started to squirm in attempts to escape Amun's grip. He tightened his hands ever so slightly to keep them in place. He noticed that Emilia had not done the same, allowing Brittney to scurry away and hide upon her back. Amun then turned his head to see his first born come into view...covered in mud from head to tail. Amun had to hold back his laughter.

"Why Bobby *snicker*...what ever happened?" He asked, every word dripping with humour.

"These three...three...abominations! They set up a trap in my favourite tree. I went to rest in the sun only to get covered in...in THIS!" She gestured to the sticky substance that now covered her curvy, ebony exoskeleton. Amun's humour was sharply cut away when he realized that she was clearly not amused.

"It was funny! You were so mad and you never suspected a thing." Julie said from her father's grip. Bobby hissed loudly at her which caused Julie to curl in on herself as much as she could. Amun cut in to alleviate the situation.

"Girls, as much fun as you might have had, it is not very nice to do this to anyone. Do you understand?" He could feel the sadness from all three of them, but only saw the two he had in front of him. They both lowered their heads with no response. "Girls?"

"Yes Father." They all said in unison. With that, he placed Sara and Julie on the ground in front of Bobby. Brittney came down from her Mother's back to join her sisters. With their heads tilted down and their tails curled around themselves in submission, they apologized to the first born.

"We are sorry Bobby." Amun could tell that they were sincere with their words and sent reassuring feelings to Bobby. His first born looked up to him and let out a sigh. She then scooped a large handful of mud from her body and smeared it across each one of their heads. All three of them let our groans of disgust.

"Come you four, let's go to the river and clean you off." Emilia said as she scooped up Bobby and placed her on her shoulder. She shooed the others along with her tail and them made her way to the forest. She looked back over her shoulder before she was too far. "Go find Scarlett and Rowena, they are over in the clearing sun bathing." Then she began her walk once again.

Amun sat alone in front of their cave for a moment attempting to gather his thoughts and figure out the best way to ask his two daughters what he needed to. He could not find the right words. He shook his head and started his way towards the clearing, he was sure they he would figure out the best way to ask them by the time he got there.

It was a short walk through the shady forest when he found himself standing, once again, at a tree line looking out to his intended targets. Only this time, they were his own daughters. He was frozen in place, still not knowing what, or how, to ask the two to change who they were. To become defenders of the hive. Their muscle and pride. They would have to give up cretin aspects of their life style if they agreed, and he was not sure that they would. They would have to stay near the queen whenever they could, almost becoming full time body guards. They may not find much time to play with their sisters after it was all done.

Amun started to panic as he looked out at his daughters who looked so happy laying in the sun. How could he ask them to give up what they had come to know and love for such a different life style. He took a small step backwards. He was not sure if he could, he wanted his daughters to be as happy as they could and this..this could change all of that. How on earth could he. His train of thought was cut off by a soft voice.

"Father!" Scarlett called out to him once she noticed the large Xeno in the tree line. "Come, join us, the sun is so warm today!" Amun was not sure what to do so his feet took over and began to move him into the open field. His panic grew a bit as he walked towards the two and apparently it was very obvious. "Father...what is it?" She asked nervously. She and Rowena stood to look at the king who approached.

"Nothing, my daughter, nothing is wrong." He said as he laid down beside the two. As he curled up like a cat, his two daughters moved to sit within his larger form. They both stared at him and it was clear they knew he was lying. He let out a long sigh. "Nothing gets past you two...does it?"

"Not really." Rowena clarified. Amun mentally smiled at his daughters. He took another large breath and slowly let it out.

"My daughters, I have something to ask of you and I do not know of an easy way to do it." He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts and the two waited patiently. "Emilia and I have been talking about the future of the hive and what we would do in case we were ever found. We thought it would be ideal if we had more...defensive capabilities to ensure our survival. Umm... We would like..for you...I mean if you would like..." He started to fluster with his words. Thankfully Scarlett stepped in.

"Ok." Was all she said. Amun paused, not exactly sure what had just happened. So he asked.

"Ok?"

"We will become Praetorians for the hive, the both of us." He was struck back, how on earth had they known what he was asking. His confusion was noted by the two and they laughed. "Mother told us, she thought you might have some trouble asking. So she told us just to agree the next time you are flustered." Amun let loose his breath that he had not realized he had been holding.

"Remind me to thank your Mother later." He looked down at his daughters before bringing his tail to embrace them both. "Thank you, both of you. It may be difficult from time to time, but I know that you two can handle it with ease."

"We will Father, it would be our honour to serve as the royal guard." Rowena said as she rubbed her head against his tail. Scarlett followed suit, letting out a low purr. Amun let out a happy, low thrum in response. "We will need your help though, I doubt either of us knows how to do this."

"I promise I will be beside you every step of the way, my daughters...my royal guard."