Scouting the Mine pt. 1

Vinncent awoke suddenly after he felt something knocking against the side of his head. Instinct took over as he leapt back into a threat display and poised to attack, letting out a warning hiss to try and scare off whatever or whoever woke him. Quickly scanning the world around him Vinncent's eyes fell upon a familiar female figure.

"Llorva is that you?" Vinncent reached out with his mind in an attempt to communicate.

"Vinncent! Oh thank heavens I thought you were just a mindless demon."

Having discovered who was likely poking him, Vinncent was able to relax and sat on the ground with his tail wrapping his legs.

"I'm sorry for running off on you earlier and I'm glad to see that your still okay but we have to move or else it won't stay that way." Vinncent exited the vegetation on the side of the road and turned his back to Llorva.

"What do you mean? Are there monsters nearby!" Llorva quickly looked around trying to look through the undergrowth with the suns fading light.

"Get on my back, I'll explain the situation on the way to the mine."

"O-Okay?" Llorva stammered as she walked to Vinncent.

Once at his side Llorva looked at his back for an idea of how to grab hold. The fact that Llorva hadn't started climbing on made Vinncent turn his head to look at her and watch as she started to lift herself onto his back. Once seated she wrapped her legs around his abdomen and her arms around his chest. Satisfied with her grip Llorva nodded to Vinncent who promptly turned around and began running through the brush. As the forest whisked by and above Vinncent began to speak.

"As you guessed there are indeed 'monsters' nearby. It's a tribe of orcs who have inhabited what I think to be the storehouse of the mine along with the worker housing. From what I overheard from their leader they are grouping up to go assault a village tonight. Which is why I was so glad to find you before they did."

Llorva listened quietly as she watched the passing forest looking for any signs of the orcs.

"So what do you plan on doing then? You said that you wanted to put the hive in the mine so won't the orcs be a danger?"

"I plan on letting Kali have some fun with them and use some of the orcs to see what variant we can get from using orcs as hosts."

Llorva looked at the back of Vinncents domed head with a single brow raised.

"What do you mean by hosts?"

Vinncent slowed for a second before resuming his pace.

"I never told you about how the demons are born did I?"

"No, you did not."

<Sigh> "I suppose you would learn sooner or later anyways, Well the demons or Xenomorphs as I know them are a parasitoid species that insert ova into their victims or hosts with the use of a delivery creature whose only purpose is to find a host and inject an egg before it dies."

"Why do I feel like you're holding back some information?" Llorva asked

"Because I don't know how you will react if I tell you the next part."

"I was a slave for thirty years, try me."

"Well as the embryo grows it takes the genetic information of the host and uses that information to supplement its own, leading to different variants depending upon the host species. As for how they are born... Well that's where things get... shall we say colorful. As the embryo grows it releases an enzyme into the host's body that causes the bones and muscle tissue to soften. Once mature enough the embryo bites it's way out of the hosts chest killing the host in the process."

Llorva was silent for a time afterwards if she was concerned by the xenomorph's life cycle or intrigued by it Vinncent couldn't tell.

As the duo fell within eyesight of the now open mine entrance Llorva asked Vinncent a question.

"You said the embryo uses something called genetic information. What is that?"

"I was worrying that you would ask why I was crazy enough to bring a purely genocidal species to this world and you ask about what a word means? Are you feeling okay, because you have changed a lot since I met you three days ago and it's starting to scare me."

Vinncent quickly responded in surprise as he reached the entrance and stopped for Llorva to get down.

"Alright, try and stay near the entrance as the mine is rather large and there is a cargo elevator farther in that I couldn't see the bottom of. As for your question, genetic information is something that is in all living things be they plant or animal and determines how they look, act, smell, see, hear, taste and even think. For example, think of your body like a house. It has a foundation, walls, roof and anything it could ever need. However, like a house it has a set of instructions that will determine its every aspect which is the equivalent of genetic information for a living being." Vinncent lectured as he walked with Llorva into the mine.

"So if it is what changes the very existence of a being does that mean you feel pain because you transform?"

"During the transformation, yes, it is indescribably painful. Afterward though the pain starts to subside and eventually disappears."

"That sounds rather unpleasant. Why do you change your form then if it causes such excruciating pain?"

"For the simple reasons of utility and power. I can change into a mouse to get through small cracks in walls to spy on my enemies, A bird to find my foes from afar or even a Xenomorph King to topple an army. Nothing is ever free and for an ability as strong and versatile as this, Pain is a bargain price."

Vinncent sat down in the middle of the intersection that the pair were walking through.

"This should be a good place to set up a small camp. It's far enough away from the entrance but not too far so as to present a potential problem. I'll go out and grab some supplies, I'll also mark the walls so that you can find the exit if you need to. Try and stay put though the orcs are likely still gathering and are likely to get restless if they haven't already started to move on the village."

Vinncent ferociously swiped his right hand across a nearby wall leaving three long white claw marks in the stone.

"Are you not going to save the people in that village!?"

"No, they don't need saving. If I'm right it's only a group of around thirty orcs and the village has most certainly upped its defense after being attacked the last time."

"Last time? You mean these orcs have attacked the village before?"

"I heard it from who I'm assuming to be their leader. He had a fair bit of confidence that it would be easier for them to raid. However, I highly doubt the village forgot about the last time they were raided."

"Could you not thin their numbers making it easier for the village to repel the attack?"

"If I do, they could change targets and come for me and possibly you. I'm not ready nor am I willing to risk unnecessarily putting you in harm's way. Please just stay safe."

Vinncent turned around and began to make his way out of the mine, carving the walls as he went. While Llorva simply sighed and sat against a wall to wait for Vinncents return.