Tialla stood by a window overlooking the landing where General Castor's ship was resting. She had a finger in her mouth and was chewing her nail anxiously. Behind her, Aldyn and Rosewood were also struck with grave faces. Eranor was behind them all feeling ashamed. She hadn't been yelled at, but she could tell everyone was mad at her for causing this.

"I don't think us waiting here will make anything happen faster or slower," Aldyn said hesitantly.

"And what exactly am I supposed to do?" Tialla snapped back.

"Wait," Rosewood shrugged. "It's all we can do."

"Well, he just said ..."

"Waiting here by the window," Rosewood cut Tialla off. "Is only helping your anxiety get higher." Eranor grimaced too. She felt like all the stress was being directed at her.

"Well, If I leave then I won't know what's going on, AND I'll be anxious." Aldyn or Rosewood did not comment on that statement. "Kitten," Tialla turned to Eranor suddenly. Eranor stood up at attention.

"Yes Nana," Eranor said robotically, eager to perform whatever task was about to be asked of her to stay on Tialla's good graces.

"How's your diaper? Do you need a change?" Tialla asked with a strange seriousness.

"No Nana I ..."

"Surely you must. You've been in that diaper for hours now. I'd be shocked if you haven't leaked." Tialla kept a flat, serious, tone. Aldyn and Rosewood look at each other both puzzled by what exactly was going on. Tialla didn't wait for an answer, walking up to Eranor and grabbing the diaper shown off by her dress. True to her thoughts her hand was a little damp when she removed it from Eranor's diaper. "Just like I thought, you're leaking. Come on, you need a diaper change."

"It's fine," Eranor said quickly. "There's more important things happening. Surely you can get someone else to do it."

"You're my baby and I'm going to change you," Tialla said with a grunt. "Obviously I've been a little lax. I need take care of this."

"But ..."

"You are getting a diaper change Kitten," Tialla said in her practiced dominating tone.

"Yes Nana," Eranor went into a submissive mode at Tialla's dominant voice, bowing her head as Tialla clipped a lead onto her harness and lead her away.

There weren't a lot of restrooms in the central pyramid that had changing rooms in them, especially on the upper levels. Still, it didn't take long for Tialla to find the one there was. Put there by necessity on the off chance anyone had to bring their children to work with them, or if they had a disability. Thanks to the late age of beastkin children they could both use the same changing station. This also meant the restraints used to keep squirmy children from moving were there as well. Tialla took a quick and practiced approach to laying Eranor down on the changing table and securing her to it as tightly as possible. Eranor noted this and kept still as much as she could, even if the restraints meant she couldn't move much anyway.

"I'm sorry," Eranor said, not looking at her Nana who was currently removing a leaking diaper from her waist.

"Why would you be? I wouldn't be sorry if I had done it," Tialla said flatly. Eranor's uncomfortable silence was her answer.

"You're mad at me," Eranor stated.

"My feelings are complicated right now," Tialla responded, wrapping the diaper up and throwing it in a trash can nearby. "At the moment I'm just stressed, which is why your diaper is getting changed." Eranor remembered Tialla saying that taking care of her was a calming experience. It seems that was being put to the test. "I don't know if I'm mad at you," Tialla had grabbed a new diaper from the diaper bag she had thought to grab on her way out. "It seems pointless to be. It's already been done, getting mad about it won't change that."

"It would be easier if you were," Eranor sighed. "Then you could just spank me until I cried and lock me up forever as punishment."

"I would never do that, Eranor," Tialla said in a flat tone. "You know that." Tialla said as she was delicately cleaning Eranor.

"Yeah, I do ... just," Eranor wiggled. "It would be easier."

"Things aren't always going to be easy," Tialla said sagely. She slid a new diaper under Eranor and continued wiping and started applying powder. "Even if you hadn't stepped in, this whole situation is far from easy."

"So, what do we do?" Eranor fell limp, her exposed privates sitting in a fresh diaper while she lay strapped to a table was not what was making her feel exposed and vulnerable right now.

"Play it by ear," Tialla taped up the new diaper snuggly. "See what happens."

"What about us?" Eranor gave a melancholic look. Tialla looked back at her and sighed.

"It depends on how this goes to be honest. I'll need time to get over it either way, but you'll always have a place in my home though."

"I don't know if I'd want to stay if I can't be your Kitten."

"It's only been like a month Eranor," Tialla said practically. They both shared a look as they both knew that the time didn't matter to either of them. Even if it had only been a few weeks it felt like forever. "We'll figure it out," Tialla finally said releasing Eranor from her restraints. "It doesn't matter right now, we have to deal with one problem at a time." Tialla clipped the lead back to Eranor's harness, and was noticeably less anxious after going through the diaper change.

"You're timing is impeccable Tia," Rosewood said urgently, as Tialla entered the room again with Eranor in tow.

"Several guards just left the air ship," Aldyn elaborated.

"Well," Tialla stopped for a moment to process. "Let's go see what happened."

The group of four all quickly walked down to the air ship, where several humans were standing around the gangway.

"Queen Tialla," one human among the group of four spoke up, and the others made their way back to the interior of the airship. Tialla noted a brief tug on the lead she was holding as Eranor abruptly stopped moving. Tialla looked back at her and noticed a shocked expression.

To Tialla, Aldyn, and Rosewood the Human before them looked average. A little on the older side with grey hairs peeking through the blonde and a weathered face. He wore a grey set of heavy armor, with a little bit of adornments to denote an officer rank, but to Eranor he looked decidedly different. To Eranor, a thick black ooze seemed to secrete out of the human's skin, and bubble up even through his armor where it dripped off of in thick globs. The blobs of ooze evaporated into a black smoke as they hit the ground only to be replaced by another glob as more oozed out of him. He also moved oddly. He seemed to skip forward in time, like he alone was moving at a different rate to everyone else.

No one else seemed to see this though. Tialla recognized that Eranor's expression was off, but couldn't glean anything more than that. She wouldn't have time as the human closed the distance before she could pry for more iformation.

"Captain Card," the human gave a small bow of introduction. "I'm glad you're here, we've had a bit of an incident that you need to be informed of." Tialla's attention was turned away from Eranor, who nervously scooted as far away as the lead would allow her.

"What manner of incident captain," Aldyn spoke up gruffly.

"It's the general," Card paused a moment. "He's been killed." The faces of the four beastkin were less shocked and more resigned. "Forgive me, but you don't seem that surprised," Card said with a knowing look.

"I'd advise you not to make assumptions,' Aldyn said as a low threat.

"I meant no disrespect," Card said in a defensive stance. "Just making an observation." There was an expectant silence that Card took as invitation to continue. "It was the general's pet, the former general Corinthus. Somehow, she smuggled in very peculiar bit of metal into her mouth. It was very reactive so she was able to shape it into a weapon and use it to attack the general even without a magical focus or even using her hands." Card reached into his pocket and out came several metal beads that he held floating in his hand. "Does this look familiar?" If there was any doubt to anyone left, Card formed the bits of metal into their original and perfectly smooth collar shape which hovered above his hand. Tialla looked at the collar and back at Card. Aldyn and Rosewood followed her gaze and the air grew tense.

"Should it look familiar?" Tialla gave a challenge.

"It should at least on a cursory level," Card accepted the challenge. "I believe your own pet had one similar to it, at least in design."

"What are you suggesting?"

"Nothing," Card said quickly. This comment garnered a few quizzical looks from Tialla, Aldyn, and Rosewood. "Allow me to continue for a moment," Card casually floated the collar to Tialla who took it in a smooth motion, letting it float around her wrist. "General Corinthus, amazing fighter that she is, managed not only to kill General Castor, but all his commanding officers as well. She took out every elf on board the air ship."

"She did what?" Rosewood said in shock.

"You expect us to believe that general Corinthus was able to kill all of the elves on board? In that pet suit Castor kept her in?" Aldyn said in obvious disbelief.

"It was quite shocking," Card said crossing his arms. "Perhaps it was something in this collar she had that gave her extra vigor. Maybe it had some enchantment on it. Shame we don't know where she got it." The faces of everyone soured as the message hidden in the words had become clear. Just as it was obvious to Card that Corinthus got that collar from Eranor, it was obvious to the four beastkin that Corinthus would not have been able to kill all the elves on the airship without any help. Cleary Captain Card was involved in some way in the elves' death. Both parties knew these lies, and both parties were denying they were lies. Because revealing the truth of what happened would be bad for them both.

"What will you say to the council?" Tialla asked.

"The truth," Card said plainly. "Things are already in motion, there will be no time to replace Castor. We humans will have to lead the coming attacks ourselves. We would anyway to tell the truth. Even with a general over us, it's always the humans doing the dirty work for the council of elves."

"And you're fine just doing the dirty work of the council of elves?" Rosewood asked pointedly.

"I am fine," Card said exhaling. "I am fine because the elves are doing what they always do. Getting full of themselves and overconfident. I will march their forces across the Miqo countries, and bash their machines against Biscotti. They will be stretched paper thin, and it will ultimately be their downfall."

"Awfully forthcoming with that information," Aldyn commented.

"Perhaps," Card said thoughtfully. "Just trying to make a connection. Letting you know that we're not that different." Card gave an official looking smile. "Ah, but as I'm sure you can understand this recent tragedy has somewhat accelerated our time table." Card's tone shifted to something more mundane. "We'll be leaving shortly. We must bring the elves back into elven territory for a proper burial, and you may be happy to know that we plan on burying his two Miqo slaves in their homeland, once the invasion begins in force. Surely her act of bravery will make her go down as a hero."

"An appealing thought," Rosewood said curtly. Card smiled and bowed again. "I wish you well Queen Tialla." Card calmly turned around and made his way back into the air ship. Tialla, Rosewood, and Aldyn all looked at each other and moved toward the rear of the landing area, as the air ship was already preparing for takeoff. Rosewood and Aldyn's faces were twisted in thought, but Tialla only had one particular thought on her mind.

"Eranor," Tialla turned to the Miqo on the end of her leash. "What's going on?" Eranor gulped and shook a little. She was grappling with the reality of what she saw, and now starting to understand what it meant. Eranor twisted the twig ring that was still around her finger.

"I saw it," she said in a quick hushed tone. "On Captain Card." She held up her hand with the twig ring on it for emphasis. "The worm! He's been talking to the worm!" This even got Aldyn and Rosewood's attention. All three looked shocked, as the depth of the situation they found themselves in suddenly washed over them.

A whir from the air ship's engines caused the group to look at it, as it slowly lifted itself off the landing and slowly left toward the elf border.

AUTHORS NOTE: Here's the next chapter everyone. This one is probably the last big twist we're gonna have for this story. Turns out everything wasn't nearly as simple as everyone hoped they would be. With that we are approaching our ending to this story. Only a few more chapters left and probably one or two bonus chapters. Which if you want to read those bonus chapters be sure to subscribe to my ream or subscribe star pages, both available on my link tree https://linktr.ee/bigred0603 Hope you enjoy.