Camity watched as Violet stared at Mirn while Mirn stared back. Just as she felt afraid that Violet would pull off some kind of attempt at dominance, Violet broke the silence. "Cute."

  Mirn curtsied, grasping the sides of their dress. "Thanks."

  "I'm older than you," Violet said.

  Ah, there it was, Camity thought. But Mirn just nodded. "Yes."

  Somehow Violet seemed satisfied at that. She settled herself onto the sofa. "So, when's dinner?"

  "Mom usually starts cooking a hour from now," Mirn said, "I help cut up the food."

  "Bet I do a better job of cutting with my cw aura." Violet looked boastful.

  Mirn shrugged. "Okay, you cut, I'll do the dishes."

  Camity stared at Mirn, then took them aside and said quietly, "You don't have to just do what she says."

  "I know," Mirn said, "But hum her makes things easier, plus it helps with her growth. If it's something I mind, I'll tell her. Besides, I like washing the dishes more than cutting up the food."

  Camity frowned. Helps with Violet's growth? But then Evolver provided an answer, expining without words that dragons, in additional to the normal methods monsters grow from, grow from being aowledged in a way that satisfies their pride or proving their superiority to others. Camity inwardly groaned. Yeah, Violet would prove to be a handful.

  As it turned out, however, Violet's ability to instantly cut meat and veggies into tiny pieces using just her cw aura proved helpful. When Violet looked to Camity obviously looking for approval, Camity said, "ting skills."

  Violet looked happy.

  ~~~

  "No," Mirn said.

  Violet looked at Camity, obviously wantio override Mirn.

  "No," Camity said.

  Violet shrugged with a sulky expression. "Fine."

  ~~~

  "o talk about where you're living," Grace said, "That apartment's no pce to raise children."

  "We've only had to kill three rats since we moved in," Camity said.

  Grace crossed her four arms and shook her head. "Your children need more room now that you're raising two. Plus that pce is a shithole."

  Once again Camity felt mildly jealous of Grace's ability to use words like 'shithole'. "Yeah, but it's what I afford."

  Grace looked at Camity. "Know my family's pound? lenty of room for you and the kids. I told them about where you're living, and theywant you to move in."

  "Huh," Camity said.

  Graodded. "We share the pound with other monster families. It's a nice pce. You've seen it. Rent is way lower, we only charge it to helpcover maintenand the nd tax."

  "Yeah, I don't need much ving. It's better, yeah." Camity gave a thumbs up. "I'll tell the kids we're moving in."

  Grace reached out and hugged Camity, and Camity reflected yet once again that being hugged by four arms articurly nice. Grace said, "Pretty Camity."

  ~~~

  "This pce sucks way less." Violet looked over the new pce. The gem walls were a pleasant blue and the furniture were shades of blue and greenthat matched well. "I get my own room? Great. Mirn is adorable, but I don't want to share a room."

  Mirn nodded. "I like Violet, even if she's a little prideful. But I like not sharing."

  "Damn right, I'm prideful," Violet said proudly.

  Camity just shook her head and chuckled. The two kids looked at her questioningly and she just said, "You're both so cute."

  Mirn just nodded, accepting the pliment they often got. Violet just stared. "Cute? Cute? Not awesome? ...I'll take it."

  "Now, it's time to unpack!" Camity said.

  Both of her children groaned.

  ~~~

  Clover, it turned out, was quite cuddly, including in her void-rabbit form, which was quite cute really. She'd turned into said form after she, Camity, saw, and Grace had finished haviogether. Foursomes were rather fun, Camity reflected, but also pretty awkward.

  "I'm gd Grace decided she wao join in, she's pretty much a wall of pure sex and four arms are fun to py with," saw said while petting Clover.

  Grace chuckled. "hought I'd have sex with a Horror, a Beyonder, and my darling monster all at once. You know some iing people, Camity."

  "I have the stra luck," Camity said, "In both good and bad and just odd ways."

  "Don't use the word both with three things!" Clgled. It was odd hearing a rabbit giggle, but Clover wasly normal.

  "Don't care." Camity grinned.

  "So rice did the Labyrinth demand?" saw asked. "You tell me to fuck off about this if you like."

  Clover said, "Nah, I don't mind, cutie. Basically I owe the Labyrinth itself a favor and I spent time iating what I will and won't do."

  "Troublesome, but could be worse." Grace looked at saw. "Am curious. What's your Horror form like?"

  saw shrugged. "Nothing I'd want to use for sex, it's a fucklot of saws and heads and flowers. Bleeding good at fighting, tho."

  Grace winced. "Bad for sex, indeed."

  saw nodded. "Also, I 't turn off my Disruption so anyone near will notice a Horror around. Heard some Horrors trol their Disruption, both hiding it and using it to attack or hinder, but figuring that out ain't so simple. Us Horrors? Doly have a society, let alone anything like mentors. Hell, I only figured out that I didn't want to just murderhappy everything because on my first maion I heard some music."

  "Damn, I knew music could be powerful, but that's quite a story," Camity said.

  "Ah, music." Clover purred. Wait, were rabbits supposed to purr? "Music is in my very nature, but even if it wasn't I would love it."

  "That's a hell of a song you have, the entropy one." saw's petting intensified, prompting more purring.

  "I prefer my other songs. They're more fun and less destructive." Clover made a clug sound in pleasure.

  Camity, having pulled up her phone and looked up whether rabbits purr, said, "Huh, rabbits do purr looks like."

  Clover chuckled. "I make any kind of sounds, but the ohat e naturally to the form I'm in are easiest. I had to practice to be able to speak in rabbit form. This form was kind of a whim, but it's one I like."

  "Certainly cute," Grace said.

  ~~~

  As Camity was w on clearing out the miasma of curses around her headmate Darkness, she heard a loud sm of the door. With a sigh, she said, "Don't close the door so hard, Violet."

  "Stupid thing keeps making too muoise," Violet said. "Anyways, hello guardian, I did really good on my math test." She pridefully held up the graded test sheet. It had a score of 96. "Got a higher grade than that asshole, too. But ime I'm going to get a perfect scuess school isn't a total waste of time if it has a way to grade your superiority over others."

  Violet had been pining about said asshole to Camity, someone who kept pig on her. Camity just sighed. "That isn't why gradis you know."

  "I know. Don't care." Violet pulled out the folder with her raded sheets, added her oo it, and put it in the box Camity used to store Mirn and now Violet's school work. "You should've seen the ugly look on his face. Anyways I tried out for the tossball team."

  "How'd it go?" Camity said while refleg that she likely knew Violet's motivation for this.

  "They said I o work on my teamwork more. Bah! I'll show them the best teamwork! Anyways, I'm in, pending ynature." Violet looked prideful once again.

  Camity blinked. "You know, you o talk to me about things like this first. Not that I'd stand in your way, just this is sudden."

  "Oh well," Violet said, "Tryouts close tomorrow and I'm tired of just sitting around. Why does school have so much sitting? Anyways this is a way to get moving and also show off my awesomeness."

  Ah, there it was. Camity sighed. "Well, try to be a good sport if you lose."

  "Me lose? Bah!" Violet smirked at Camity. "That's what you thought I'd say, right? No, I tell there are people better than me oeam, but just you watch, I'll get better at it."

  Was this what raising a teenager was like? Camity just rubbed her head.

  Violet handed over a sheet of paper. "Oh, yeah, I need you to sign this permission form. I 't joieam without it."

  "Sure thing," Camity said.

  ~~~

  Violet was in a bad mood. Camity could tell not only from the grumbling the teenager kept doing but the way her tail kept shing and puffs of fmes kept ing out of her mouth. "I failed the history test! I'll have to take remedial history! And phones are way too flimsy too."

  Camity looked nervously at the rather nice apartment she and the kids now lived in, courtesy of Grace's family. It was a good thing that everything in it was ented for durability against many forms of harm. "I did tell you to take remedial history from the start. Oh, wait, what's this about flimsy phones? Did you break yain?"

  "Uh..." Violet looked at Camity. "Yes?"

  Mirn walked up to Violet. "You pet me."

  Violet whipped out the glove she had taken to carrying with her, put it on, aed Mirn on their slimy head. "How soothing."

  A short while ter, Camity and her kids were at the phoore. She looked at the sele briefly, the up to the store clerk and said, "I need your most durable phone."

  The clerk blinked. "We do have some models..."

  Camity said, "I need ohat stand up to a dragon daughter who is rather careless with her things."

  "Ward, not daughter," Violet said.

  The clerk smiled uneasily. "Uh... Sorry I'll o ask the manager."

  "Alright, sorry about this," Camity said.

  A little ter, the manager came out with a model with a thick, rugged looking g. "This is a specialized model fh travel ditions, ented for additional durability."

  Camity winced. "How much does it cost?"

  The price turned out a bit stiff, but affordable particurly with another deep byrinth dive. Camity nodded and prepared to pay for it.

  "Wait, I have to use *that*?" Violet looked aghast then sighed. "I want it in purple."

  The manager simply pulled out a wand from uhe ter, tapped it to the blocky phourning it purple, and ha over.

  Violet looked at her new phone sulkily the whole way home.

  ~~~

  "I want you to tutor me on history." Violet looked at Camity.

  Camity suddenly found herself wishing that she had Darkness back, as memories came back of all the times she'd left many of the more difficult academic subjects to her headmate, instead fog on the courses Darkness didn't like as much, the more social aspects of school, and also gym and the sword dueling team, which Darkness wasn't really into.

  Violet looked at Camity, raised her eyebrow, and said, "What're you thinking about?"

  "I..." Camity scrambled for a way to hahis without hiring a tutor. Almost certainly she would have to, she'd have to figure out a way to fit it into the finances...

  A voice Camity'd been longing for since she realized its absence spoke in her head. *Let me take over; I'll hahis.*

  *Darkness!* Camity thought happily.

  *Ah, it is good to be back, as good as the gentle breeze on ones back.* And then Darkook over the piloting of their shared body. Camity didn't test it, letting her old friend front.