A dark ink lot stained the pale sands - the sun shining off an eyeless carapiece and the slow cooking stench of a body wafting from the viscera scattered around the pitch dark creature.

For here did BlackTide sit, absentmindedly gnawing through the carcass of a deceased slave while the days were slow - he had yet to venture out and cause trouble amongst their enemies, content to sit back home after the violence inflicted on enemy-snow-hive - it had taken its fill and scarred its enemies, so he was content.

The first signs of ridges along its form was the telltale indicator the beast would soon obscure itself away in the deep unreachable recesses of the pyramids only to resurface larger than before - soon it would shed its juvenile skin.

Soon,

But for now the juvenile apex creature was content gnawing the last dregs of meat from the bone before inevitably demolishing that too - for hungry were those about to evolve.

A noise to the side caused dark ears to prick up and the unseen eyes to glance in that direction - which strange-hive was disturbing its meal today?

© MADI

if he had visible eyes they'd be burning holes through shark-cat-praetorian's head.

Instead the eyeless beast merely turned to the shark-cat and stared for a full minute before pointedly turning away to continue munching on the dead prey-slave - praetorian shark-cat might be but BlackTide thought him a poor one,

Praetorians were to guard the queens and higher castes yet this one bothered him over a dead prey - trivial matter - if it were dead it would be eaten, if it were lame or ill then it became useless as its function and thus culled - it kept slave-prey from trying to attack hive and kept the hive culled of useless wastes that had more usability dead than alive.

And since no hosts were currently needed - they were only good for food for now.

Green-drone joined them and the alien creatures ears flickered at the high voice - sparing a low rumble for green's enthusiastic greeting, recognising the prey-tongue's word in reference to him, though he had no words on the little left - green-drone simply suffered of lack of timing, if she were here earlier green would have found more to chew on.

Half-jaw joined them, BlackTide rumbling in his direction - an amused note almost to the quality of the vibrating sound at the visible taunting - half-jaw had scars, therefor half-jaw had proven himself of some quality, he was a good strange-hive.

Green had brought prey had come to strange-hive from enemy-prey yet had proven to be of hive after all - he'd yet to see what any quality other than bothersome shark-cat was so far.

Idly he wondered where pale-mother was - were their more siblings with strange void skin yet?

© MADI