As I lay in the sands of the bath, I closed my eyes in true relaxation. It had been a while since I'd been able to, given that I'd spent days spearheading the defense against the ant assault. Nobody had come to disturb us since we'd left the gathering of the Keel, so I supposed it would be fine for me to indulge in a bath. As I vibrated the sands to fluidization, I rolled my shoulders. Filth sloughed off my body, the caked ichor of hundreds of ants that'd been left forgotten in my need to deal with the dozens of other problems in New Nievtra.
Sybil stood shakily and slumped into the bath, where she let the sands course over her body. I reached a hand out and pulled her close, where she leaned against my shoulder and sighed sleepily.
"I realize you had a promise to keep," she snarked, "but I have not yet fully recovered from the evolution. My body demands more food."
"I'll bring you something." I smiled and moved to leave.
"No. Not yet." She wrapped her arms around me and settled more comfortably into my arms. A thought occurred to me and I smirked.
"Brutus." I called out, knowing he was nearby. He poked his head in, meeting my eyes without speaking. "Would you bring us something to eat, and include a double portion for yourself?"
He flared his frills in assent and pulled his head out. The shuffling of feet sounded outside, and I smiled knowing how he'd reacted.
"He is a perfect guard." Sybil mused. "His dedicated followers are, with the exception of the other members of your elite, your staunchest supporters. Was there anything specific that you did to instill such admiration and regard in him towards you?"
"No. I think it just started when we were hatchlings and he joined our pack because he thought I was the strongest. From there… I don't know."
"Interesting." Sybil mused as she nuzzled against my neck more comfortably. Her breathing slowed, though not quite to the level of falling asleep. "Ashlani."
"Hm?"
"Thank you." She mumbled, her breath hot on my neck. "For taking me in. For caring about me. For understanding."
I nuzzled the top of her head in response, my head resting between her frills. I was about to speak when she said something that I'd never heard from her.
"I love you."
The words struck me and I couldn't help but grin widely. Against my chest, Sybil slowly stiffened, and I realized she only then realized what she'd said. I reached down and settled both of my hands under her arms to pull her up into my lap. She looked into my eyes, embarrassed and unsure and I nuzzled my snout against hers.
"Thank you, Sybil, for your vulnerability and willingness to speak, even if under the influence of exhaustion. And let me just say–I love you too. My mate, my friend, my supporter, my beta, my Empress."
Sybil didn't speak, merely laying her head on my shoulder as I continued to fluidize the sand all around us with my sonic magic. It scrubbed all over our bodies, and I gently rubbed the sand into wherever on Sybil's back I could reach without disturbing her comfortable posture. She groaned as I reached a spot just between her shoulderblades, and I felt large flakes of dead skin scrape away with my movements.
My mate gave suggestions of where to scrub next, and I did as she asked. Before too long, though, Brutus walked through the doorway, laden with five complete ant corpses. The massive bodies, each at least three feet long, almost looked small in his arms. He went to drop three for Sybil and myself before leaving, but I gestured for him to stop. Again, without speaking, he waited for my command.
"Come in, Brutus. I'll help you clean off the remains of evolution."
"Yes, Alpha." He answered, though hesitantly.
"Brutus, you know already that the Alpha will not have any way other than his own. Do not concern yourself with it and bring the food close enough to reach from here."
I chucked and shifted to let Sybil sit against the firmer wall of the bath. Brutus set the stack of ant corpses on the ground within Sybil's reach before sinking into the sand. It was far too small for all three of us, and I stepped out of the way to allow him to indulge in the bath. I kept a hand in the sand to fluidize the grains to scrub at the two recently evolved Keel, and Brutus groaned as large flakes of shed skin and small scales flowed off of him and into the sand.
With Sybil's question on my mind, I asked Brutus, "Why did you decide to dedicate yourself to me like you have?"
"You're the Alpha." He said rather simply. Instead of responding, though, I waited for him to continue speaking. After a full minute, he straightened his spine and pulled away from my scratching hands so he could look me in the eye before he continued, "You have trusted me. You haven't always cared about me personally, but when I came to you and Sybil told you I was too stupid to name, you gave me a name. Tieran… I don't remember much. But he used me without ever considering me as a person. I know now that you were just expanding your control when you took me in. But you did. And you have continued to trust in me, to give me responsibilities, and take my preferences into account when I voiced them. I don't think another would have given me that. So, I follow you, I protect you, and I always will."
I'd never heard Brutus speak so much in a short time, but I forced myself not to be surprised. He was quiet, and maybe shy, but he'd evolved now to Keel, a creature that was at its birth superior to the rest. Maybe that was just my own bias speaking, but I still believed it. And now, Brutus, a Keel in his own right, could speak, of course he could. That he'd been so impacted by my mostly careless treatment of him, though, was something that I found myself deeply impacted by. The careless words I'd said to him then, thoughtless assurances or promises I couldn't recall in the slightest, were something that had changed his life.
"Thank you, Brutus, for your devotion. I've seen how you have changed in this year, how you've grown, and I want to assure you that I consider you one of my truest allies. Thank you."
"Of course, Alpha." He flared his frills before stepping out of the bath, sand coursing off his body and falling into the pit. As the flecks of dried ichor and dead skin settled to the top of the bath, I was struck by how important it would be to clean or even change out the sand with regularity. Then, with my mate on one side and my self-appointed bodyguard on the other, I sat down and let myself feast on the food Brutus had brought.