The Pile

Taylor looked in her wallet. Almost expecting flies to fly out of it with how deep in the hole she was, all these years of medical expenses for her family having been shoved on her by their deaths. So now she was here, standing in front of the Entomorph breeding programs front doors, unemployed and in debt online she had heard that if you signed up here they would pay everything off in exchange for you choosing one of the groups to live with and help with the group's population. While the idea of kids wasn't exciting to her the idea of not having debt collectors on her ass for the first time in five years was. She fluffed up her purple sidecut before taking a deep breath and pushing the doors open. Being immediately met with a blond hair and purple-eyed woman walking out with a bee at the same time. 'Huh, don't I know her from the news? good for her.' She then walked up to the desk looking at the taller ant before sighing. "Hello... I signed up for an interview today, I'm Taylor Olson."

"Why yes, we have been expecting you, Taylor. My name is Zula, and from your file, you are hoping to get out of some debt more than a particular want for children. We can handle that, as long as you are willing." She grins "People tend to fear us because of being underground, and we can assure you that you will have plenty of resources to recover from your losses, and we have just the job you can do." She grins and holds out a hand "So Taylor, I will ask you, are you ready to help us so we may help you?"

Taylor grinned before taking the ant's hand and shaking it. "Oh absolutely." She snickered a bit her ripped denim vests pins bouncing and jingling lightly as they shook hands. "Honestly I'd do almost anything to get away from the debt that isn't even mine, and what's a few years in the grand scheme of things."

Zula nods "It will take time, but you will be cared for and have all your worries up here taken care of." She smiles and begins to lead Taylor outback. "I really like all the shiny stuff you are wearing!" She pulls Taylor close and pokes some of the buttons. "They clinkly clack!"

Taylor giggled a bit rubbing one of her pins that had a small cute character. "Yeah, I collected them as a kid because I thought they were cute. Having them on really became part of my style after a point." She then distanced herself slightly from Zula feeling a bit intimidated by the larger woman.

She grins and nods "That is really neat, while the spiders make high-quality clothes, the bees make above ground things and foods, while we do underground stuff, and have been finding ore easily to sell. Shiny is good, so shiny brings prosperity to the hive!"

Taylor chuckled a bit before nodding along with the ant. "Yeah if you want I can show you where to get some of these ordered from if you all have internet down there." She then continued following Zula for almost a mile into the woods before reaching what looked like a massive anthill above ground. Causing her to whistle.

She nods "The bees have been working more on adapting things like that, though some we have been getting going. When we need stuff like that we go to town." She pulls Taylor closer again "Stay close, you do not know our tunnel lines yet, you will learn though." She smiles and starts leading the way inside. As things got dark, there soon were glows as they passed other ants, showing sets of glowing mushrooms on the walls. "We find glowing crystals and bioluminescent mushrooms to act as light sources that we have been installing ever since the program started."

Taylor had to squint at first as she made her way down with Zula. Pressing against the ant while she tried not to trip over the uneven pathways. "Um... where are we actually headed, Zula. I can't really see much and this dark of halls... make me nervous and remind me of way worse times than I'd like to admit."

She nods "I am guiding you through the false tunnels, things get bigger once we get inside proper." She smiles and turns a corner, leading into a massive chamber with many simple houses made with packed earth and metals. "Here we are, welcome to the central hive."

Taylor looked astounded at how open this area was. "Wow... that's all I can really say, this is kinda badass." She grinned stepping into the open area looking at all the ants scurrying around. Noticing the lack of humanoids even in the area. "So do the humans generally just stay in their 'mates' homes for the pregnancy? Or are you all less popular than the other options?"

"We are much more communal than others, there is really not a one-to-one thing. That and we breed faster than the others too." She points towards the largest building "The queen lives there, and the guards watch over those in the program. There are many who also choose to transition to ants before their time here is up."

Taylor nodded as they approached the massive building. Looking over everything gold was implanted in almost every inch of the main building. "Oh, my gods is that really all gold? That's ridiculous, I assume you have so much you can just afford that but... wow." She was awestruck by the extravagance of everything, remembering the infection from when she was a kid. "How did you all deal with the infection though? It crippled the bees but you all look... fine."

"Because of our tunnel systems, the agents couldn't get all the way inside, they had to settle for infecting some lesser drones. They were discovered sick and quarantined right away. Two died in peace, but the rest survived as we discovered the cure for our own species." She nods to the center of the underground town "We have a statue to commemorate their efforts to keep the sickness from spreading to the rest of the hive."

Taylor nodded looking over at the left corner of the open area. Seeing the statue of 5 ants all just holding hands in a circle. "I'm glad it didn't hurt you all too badly. It was really a sickening situation even if I can only hazily remember it since I was a kid at the time."

Zula smiled "It is partially because of how we handle things that it didn't get as bad as it could have." She sighed "Our queens though are all aging and having difficulties making elates to be the next queens, that is part of why we entered the program on our end to help keep our number production up."

Taylor nodded holding Zula's hand as they approached the front gates of the castle. "So who am I going to work with for the duration of my stay?" Looking over at the pair of guards that protected the doors the amount of armor plating seemed almost excessive.

"Well, like I said earlier, we are much more communal than the others. We will start you off small with just myself and the queen making sure everything goes well, then once you are settled in we will bump it up to more." She nods to the guards who nod back, looking quite a bit bigger than the other ants. "Those are the supermajors, they guard the hive, and come out when we need extra muscle."

Taylor nodded as the guards pushed the doors open. Letting the pair into the building, almost immediately it became clear this was the most technologically advanced area of the community, a small amount of electricity both warming the area and running actual light bulbs. "So... how is the queen? I'm honestly a bit surprised I'm considered worth sending all the way up to them."

"Any female willing to give us a shot we go all out on their comfort just as we would our queen's comfort." She smiles "Then if they wish to join the hive properly, there is a conversion process that people can go through."

Taylor gave a pair of finger guns while they headed down the steel and rock hallways. Each time they passed a door Taylor would peak inside, surprised to see rooms flooded with the most expensive furnishings that she had seen in her entire life. Along with this, there were at least 3 or 4 ants in each room, just talking or playing tabletop games. "That's hella sweet of you guys."

She nods "Yeah, we have picked up a few human entertainment things. We have struck several deals for all the ore we find down here, and have even taken to smelting it ourselves to start selling to those that need it. Then the bees came up with some improvement ideas for reasonable housing for those in human society who struggle with...well survival. We have been contracted to help with foundational work there while the bees make the actual above-ground buildings."

Taylor smiled softly at this before tightly hugging Zula's side. "I know just how crippling homelessness can be. I think it's really sweet that you all are willing to help others so openly." After a moment she blushed hard, pulling back before continuing their walk towards a now seemingly infinitely growing pair of doors at the end of the hallway.

Zula stops and opens a door, leading to an empty room with a comfortable bed and a few other amenities "Here we go, we can get you all started in more private quarters before introducing you to the rest of the system so as to not overwhelm you."

Taylor smiled walking into the room and sitting down on the bed. Her hands gently brushing the silk blankets before allowing herself to flop down onto it. Happy to experience having a bed of her own for the first time in almost a year. "So... when do I actually start? Like I will admit I don't even know what an ant pregnancy would be like for me so any tidbits of information would help."

"Well, our eggs are smaller than a human infant but will grow to be about as big. They need warm moist environments where they can exist, which the womb fits perfectly. Ant drones and workers can produce eggs in a pinch, but the queen in her prime would just lay grown and ready eggs en mass. Now however they are losing their fertility, and so we implant eggs into willing hosts to care for them for a couple months before laying them to hatch, which as a bonus absorbs some of the host DNA to add extra diversity to our genetic pool in comparison. Then we do it over and over again. And if you are worried about stretch marks, we have developed a special lotion that enhances the elasticity of flesh, so any pain from the process will be lowered or negated, and your body will keep returning to be nice and just how you are."

Taylor rolled her eyes before chuckling lightly. "Trust me, stretch marks are the least of my worries." She yawned lightly before shaking her head. "Sorry... I am a bit drained. I had been up for about 2 days straight at this point. Walking my way to the program and all."

"You walked the whole way here? You need to rest, we will have to bring you some nice food and drink." Zula started to rub Taylor's back, her thin fingers pressing into several spots that were very tight. "We need to get you all pampered to be ready for anything."

Taylor squeaked as Zula started to massage her. The knots running all up and down her back. "Y- yeah..." as the massage continued she relaxed slightly hugging her pillow and just enjoying the massage. "It took a while to get here but it was entirely worth it, I can tell. My bank account hit zero before I could get a ride... so the idea of food is." She started drooling slightly at the concept. "Wonderful."

She smiles "Well then, what do you prefer? I'll have a meal brought here while we continue to help you relax." I'll also start you off with some water, but we should be able to bump it up to more soon."

"Just like... bread and meat? I am really just craving something filling ya know?" Taylor sighed, closing her eyes and starting to let her exhaustion overwhelm her. Her entire body felt heavy thanks to the massage, each knot being slowly worked out by Zula's skilled fingers.

Zula nodded and her antennae would flick a little bit as she pressed in further, her fingers getting at more along Taylor's shoulders before sliding down her back. After about 10 minutes of this, there is a knock at the door as an ant comes in with a plate with a steak sandwich, the bread toasted and meat hot, as well as a bottle of water. "Here we are, since it has been a couple days, we will start off with a decent if smaller meal, though we can work up to more down the line. If you don't like this then I can get something else brought in for you."

"No that smells amazing!" Taylor stretched slightly before taking the sandwich and starting to tear into it. Her eyes were still mostly closed as she ate happily, enjoying having a warm meal inside her again. It only took 3 minutes for the entire meal and water to be gone. "Thank you so much."

"No, thank you for being willing to go through with this. We will have some maternity robes and the like prepared. Would you like your first egg filling tonight, or would you prefer to start in the morning? We can go either way, Taylor." Zula's fingers gently slide along her sides and begin to massage her belly as she helps Taylor sit up.

"If it would be ok, I'd like to meet the queen before I have my first set of eggs." Taylor leaned into Zula's side smiling softly. "Given I need to meet her anyway getting through that before I experience this would be... comforting."

Zula smiles "Of course, several others who have come have wanted that first." She helps Taylor up and begins leading the girl out of the room at a relaxed pace, going back down the hall and towards an area with 4 super majors standing guard, and a number of smaller workers passing by them through some doors. "Queen Mai has the job of looking out for the hive as a whole, as well as ensuring the continued growth. She is very nice, and I am sure you will like her." Zula grins before leading the way inside. At the throne there is a larger ant, she would be very tall if standing, and she had a particularly large abdomen coming out like a tail would be on some other creature.

Taylor smiled softly at the queen before walking to her next to Zula. Taylor bowed lightly before looking the queen in the eyes. "Hello... I'm Taylor, thank you for accepting me into your program. Zula here has made my trip here incredibly relaxing."

Mai looked at Taylor, the wrinkles around her eyes crinkling as she smiled "Thank you for agreeing to help take care of what I no longer can Taylor. Zula is one of my trusted attendants, and the best one I would trust with helping you adjust." She looks over Taylor some more "Ohhh, I really like those buttons on you, shiny things look nice." She giggles and motions to a necklace she was wearing "We tried rings a bit, and I get the significance in human culture, but they just mess with our finer dexterity, we have mostly taken to circlets, crowns, and necklaces...though maybe we should look at making buttons too."

"I would recommend going into buttons." Taylor giggled a bit wiggling her jacket a bit to let all of her pins jingle around. "While I know you all are very dependant on each other, they are the type of thing that even while you're working in a larger collective you can have your own little bit of individuality that makes you happy." She nodded before taking one of her pins off of the jacket and walking up to the queen. Holding it up to Mai, it was one of a little black and white kitten. "Here you can even have this one to start ya off."

Mai gently takes it and looks at it, smiling before pinning it onto her robe "Thank you, I will treasure this for the rest of my days Taylor" She rubs a thumb over it with a smile "So, I heard that you have had a lot of medical debt pass onto you from passed on family?" She looks Taylor over "I promise we will handle all of that and more."

Taylor nodded rubbing her shoulder. "Yeah, that whole manufactured sickness really hit our family hard." She sighed before stepping back to stand next to Zula again. "I will admit I'm a bit anxious about experiencing pregnancy for the first time but on the whole... just thank you for giving me this opportunity."

Zula gently hugs Taylor while Mai grins "Giving help and bringing each other up is what family is all about. By helping with this I see you like family, which means we will help you." She shifts a little bit "This will not quite be the same as a human pregnancy, but it is similar enough that you may see several effects such as increased milk production and some hormone production. We want this process to be as comfortable as possible, especially since the stage progression so to say can be a bit of a shock at first."

Taylor blushed at the family comment before hugging Zula back. "Well, I'll be ready in the morning to do my first round. Like I told Zula I'm kinda on the verge of falling asleep where I stand, so doing it now wouldn't be the best idea in my personal opinion." She snickered slightly before gently squeezing Zula.

Mia nodded "I understand, please rest up, sleep in, you will get good sleep, and a good breakfast before you start." She smiles and nods to Zula "Zula will be your attendant and the first to implant you to keep this first round as gentle and gradual as possible."

Taylor smiled and nodded holding onto Zula as they were lead back out of the room and towards the bedroom. Looking up at Zula, Taylor leaned into the ant's side as they were let back inside of the bedroom. "So I've gotta ask, am I the first person you've introduced to the program?"

"We have had some, but the spiders and bees have gotten much more. Most people are either afraid of ants in general, afraid of being underground for extended times, or just more attracted to the others." She sighs "You are number 5 so far." She looks down "So far 3 of the 4 before you have chosen to transition, which does make us happy...but we are also...looking into the potential of a transition warranting a queen." She sighs "We believe that part of the reduction in the production of elates is related to our evolution...but Mai has yet to be able to produce any who could become queens."

Taylor nodded before squeezing Zula gently. "I will try and help any way that I can, because honestly now that I've had a few hours to adjust you are all pretty cute." She smiled softly before leaning up to kiss Zula on the cheek gently. "I'm excited to spend this time with you already."

Zula smiles and nods "I really like being around you too." She thinks a little bit "Would you...like to spend tonight alone, or would you like me nearby? Whatever makes you feel more comfortable around here." She rocks on her feet a little bit.

"I'd like to have you here for the night at least... honestly I've spent far too many nights alone recently so having someone else here would be nice." Taylor gently pulled Zula over to the bed, laying down on the bed before tugging Zula to join her in the bed. Starting to slip out of her jacket and pants.

Zula smiled and quietly helped Taylor strip down before hugging her to her chest. "That is good, I really like to hug in my sleep." She holds Taylor to her chest and began to run her fingers through her hair "There we are, just relax and enjoy the night. I won't leave you alone for a moment sweetie."

Taylor shuddered lightly before cuddling into Zula's arms and closing her eyes. For the rest of the night, Taylor just slept in Zula's arms, enjoying the warmth of what would become her new partner for the foreseeable future.

The night went smoothly, being one of the best periods of sleep Taylor ever had. In the morning, Zula shifts a bit and kisses Taylor's forehead "Hey, how are you feeling? If you want to sleep in more just let me know." She smiles and rubs Taylor's back gently.

Taylor stretched her whole body shuddering slightly before turning around and yawning. "Nah I think I've got enough sleep, now it's all up to you to lead me through everything that I've gotta do next." She smiled softly at Zula her eyes only barely half-open as she spoke.

"Well, we have pancakes coming, along with the lotion. After you eat and I rub that in, we will give you your first egg, maybe two if you feel comfortable having two." She grins and looks over as an ant walks in with a knock, plates of pancakes with a selection of toppings. "Here we are, take your pick of what you want."