Vur groaned and rolled over, the snot bubble coming out of his nostril popping as he did so. He used his arms to push himself up and looked around with a scowl on his face. “Why is it so loud?”

“Hi!” The caterpillar egg flashed, and a high-pitched voice was transmitted into Vur’s head. “You’re the one Mom entrusted me to! I really didn’t think you’d drop me so suddenly, ha-ha; I didn’t even have time to react!”

Vur blinked and stared down at the flashing egg. It really did look like a melon albeit a dry one. Considering how firm and wrinkled it looked, it’d probably be as crunchy as a cucumber. Unfortunately, he made a deal with the large caterpillar to take care of the egg. Those caterpillar legs…, they were tasty and worth it. Once the caterpillar egg grew up, he could have some more legs in the future. Vur nodded and smiled at the caterpillar egg before petting it.

“So, where are we going next?” the caterpillar egg asked. “Since you’re not a caterpillar or even an insect, I’ll give you a hint on how to properly raise me. I need to see lots and lots of fresh sights, and the more experiences I have, the healthier I’ll grow!”

Vur scratched his head and ignored the caterpillar egg, looking past it to make eye contact with Stella. “Where’s Tafel?”

“She went to set up her spatial coordinates and cache,” Stella said. “You haven’t been asleep for very long.” The fairy queen tilted her head to the side. “It’s only been about … twenty minutes?”

“Hey, it’s very rude to ignore someone who’s talking to you,” the caterpillar egg said, flashing as it did. “I’m not even born yet, but even I know that. I actually have the experiences and memories of all my ancestors stored in my mind, but I can only remember bits and pieces. As I get older, my brain will get stronger, and I’ll be able to recall even more.”

“Even the living ancestors like your mother?” Stella asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yep,” the egg said. “She keeps nagging me to tell you to take care of me, so I’ve been yelling a lot because my great-grandpa says the best way to get someone’s attention is to be an obnoxious noise machine.”

Vur nodded. He looked to the side at the pupa. It still resembled a glowing jade statue, and other than the brightness—which had increased—nothing about it had changed. “Can you speak too?”

“Ginger can’t speak,” the egg said. Its body lit up, and a beam of light shot out of it, shining directly onto Vur’s eyes. It grunted as the light flickered. “Look at me when I’m talking to you.”

Vur turned his head towards the flashing egg, the lights not bothering him in the slightest. He came over to the egg and picked it up before smiling at it. “You need to experience new things to grow?”

The egg stopped flashing. It paused a bit before answering. “Yes. If I’m experiencing something for the first time, I’ll grow a little bigger. If I experience something new that even my ancestors haven’t gone through, I’ll become extra healthy.”

Vur nodded. “Have your ancestors ever flown before?”

“Not everyone is like my mother,” the egg said. “Most caterpillars choose to turn into butterflies. I’ll personally remember more about flying once I become a butterfly, but my ancestors have definitely flown before.”

“Have they ever flown while they were still an egg?” Vur asked as he stood up and walked to the center of the room with the egg in his hands.

“Flown while they were still an egg?” the egg asked. “I’m not quite sure what you mean. Can you demonstrate? Oh, my mother just told me that was a stupid question to ask. Please don’t—”

Vur inhaled as he drew his arm back, holding the egg in one hand as if it were a javelin. With a exhalation, he stepped forward and heaved, throwing the egg into the sky, the leaves on the tree barely unfurling in time to let the egg escape the room.

“Will it be alright?” Stella asked, flying over to Vur’s side. She tilted her head up and shielded her eyes from the sun with her hand, but it was hopeless. The egg had been launched too far for her to see.

Vur nodded. “It’ll be fine,” he said. “Zilphy will catch it.”

Stella lowered her head and blinked. She turned around to make eye contact with the green rock trying to snuggle against the brown rock on the bed. “No, I don’t think she will,” the fairy queen said, raising an eyebrow as she spoke.

“Zilphy’s good at catching,” Vur said and scratched his belly.

Stella turned back around and lifted her head. Now, she could see the egg which was barely just a dot in the sky. It was gradually getting larger, and it was definitely coming down quickly. If it hit the ground, well, then it’d get to experience the fun, new realm called death. Then again, its ancestors must’ve experienced dying before, but would they pass down their experiences? Stella could’ve warned Vur, let him know Zilphy was otherwise too preoccupied to catch the egg, but at the same time, there was a small part of her—just a tiny portion—that wanted to see what would happen to the egg once it hit the ground. That tiny little portion won. Stella said nothing as the egg plummeted to the ground with a crunch and a thump.

“Ah!” Stella shouted once she realized what had happened. “Vur, quick, go save it! You can’t let it die.”

“Huh.” Vur blinked and rubbed his chin. “Interesting.” He approached the wall, and the leaves parted way, leaving space for Vur to jump out. He landed on the ground and leapt forward towards the direction of the egg, traveling on all fours. Not long after, he came to a halt, coming to a stop in front of a tiny, blue caterpillar. It was rocking back and forth while hugging pieces of broken eggshells to its body.

The caterpillar froze upon seeing Vur. “You broke it!” it wailed, pointing at Vur with one leg. “You broke my egg!”