Stay with Mira and your brood

You order your four eldest children to scout the area, avoiding any contact with humans. You marvel at the fact that you need no words to do so. They are nearly large enough to breed themselves, luckily they show no interest in their mother for this purpose. It must be a biological imperative, perhaps they do carry her DNA despite sharing none of her traits. Either way, you are glad. You don't relish the idea of fighting a bunch of tiny you's.

The link between you and your children is strange but instinctive. You sense them out in the woods, relishing their growing bodies as they run and see what's to see. You lay down with Mira to sleep.

You awaken several hours later. The feelings of warmth and satisfaction end abruptly when you realize you can't sense the juveniles you sent out to scout. Have they ranged too far for the connection between you, or are they in trouble? You calm yourself, wanting to believe nothing is wrong. You stretch out your other senses. You can't smell or hear anything strange outside the building. With a start you sit up, realizing you can't smell or hear ANYTHING outside the building, not even the trees.