Stavanger Bay everyone, step aside; this is the last warning

Clarity lost in the food-induced haze, Doe could only further succumb to the renewed excitement of their reunion when Szymon demanded to see his own surprise. The doctor, of course, was all to happy to lead him to her newly enlarged den, carrying the beautiful pelt carefully in her bristling jaw. Once there, she dragged the pelt over the sandy floor of her home and sat down upon it, eyes still fixed on the pale form hovering outside her home.

Atoll opened her maw to bid him enter, but the dying embers of her moment of clarity made her pause. She wanted to force him inside, to tell him that this was his home now, and that he was to return here each night to sleep. But while he belonged to her, she also belonged to him. He deserved her compassion, and to decide without persuasion whether he wanted to make his home with her.

Sweeter the victory if he surrenders without duress, the sensible voice reminded her, appealing to her selfish nature. Doe had to agree.

"I made it bigger," she said softly. "So that you can come in."