Saffron

**Saffron** is the eighth girl to join Daemon's harem in the series. She serves as the group's demolition expert and lends the aid of her expansive nest of ant girls in Koskaysil.

## Appearance

Saffron wears normal ant girl worker garb from her nest, with black boots and gloves along with a red tunic. Her insect abdomen has a rosy tone to it and her hair is red just as her eyes are. Unlike other ant girls Saffron has extremely long hair that freely flows down her back and bangs that often get in front of her eyes. Her bug antennae manage to stick out above her locks. She's usually seen carrying a black satchel that holds her bombs and has earmuffs she keeps around her neck when not in use.

## Personality

Unlike the more timid and gentle ant girls from Squeak's nest, Saffron comes from a nest that's more advanced and skilled with their digging and none too shy about getting into a fight with anyone that challenges them. They use bombs regularly in their mining which they don't even bat an eyelash or flinch in the slightest from and have been raised from early childhood to be not only strong diggers but also fearless warriors. Saffron is one of her nest's lieutenants and a shining example for her sisters due to her bravery and strength.

In Saffron's nest only the strongest and most desirable men are even selected for testing to begin with, and from those only the absolute best are chosen to be used as breeders for their queen. Saffron shares this mentality just as all her sisters do and holds all men she meets to their high standards. Upon meeting Daniel she thought absolutely nothing of him and refused to believe his words of peace and coexistence. When she meets Daemon she initially thinks nothing of him as well, until she is quickly beaten in combat with him not even drawing his sword once. Her infatuation quickly grew as she learned what Daemon was, what he was doing and after in the world, and his unwavering spirit to press forward even in the most dire of times. She now gladly assists Daemon in their mutual goal of ending The Sisterhood that their nest is at war with and has taken a heavy interest in him as well. Offering transportation through the land via their underground railways, her sisters as willing soldiers to aid in his fight, and having no fears for what Daemon truly is, she has become a fierce contender for his affections among his other girls.

Like all ant girls Saffron can only squeak when she talks. Fortunately Daemon is able to understand her as he knows different monster languages in addition to the human tongue, with him being the one who often translates what she's saying to those around them.

From the moment Saffron took a liking to Daemon it was difficult to tell if she wanted to offer him to her queen or keep him as her own mate. Now that her queen is dead it's almost a certainty Saffron wants Daemon all to herself. Whether she'll become the next queen for her nest is unknown, however given that Daemon can't mate with her yet because of the Archlight's Blade it's likely another queen will be chosen before Saffron gets a chance to mate with him.

A reoccurring quirk she has is blowing her bangs away from her eyes with a quick puff, this being done very often as her long hair frequently gets in front of her face. It is unknown if she calls Daemon by any title like the other girls in his harem do, if she does he has yet to comment on or correct her on it.

## Abilities

**Strength:** Like all ant girls, Saffron has incredible physical strength despite her feminine figure. She can easily wield a pickaxe to lethal effect and is no slouch when it comes to hand-to-hand combat.

**Healing Saliva:** Saffron has the ability to heal wounds with her saliva and also instill a pleasuring euphoric sensation with it as well, just as all ant girls can do. As of the latest book, Saffron has not used this ability.

**Pheromones:** Like all ant girls, Saffron has the ability to exude a unique, pink perfume-like pheromone from her insect abdomen. When inhaled by men, this causes them to go mad with lust and the desire to copulate with any woman, be they human or monster, they can find until they pass out from exhaustion. It has no effect on women of any race. This ability is used by ant girls to force men to mate with their workers and test who is virile enough to used by their queen for breeding. Something to note about this pheromone is that it changes depending on who is in close proximity to the ant girl. If other, non-ant girls are nearby, the pheromones make the man temporarily sterile so they don't accidentally impregnate other races of women instead. As of the latest book, Saffron has not used this ability.

**Nocturnal Vision:** Ant girls like Saffron can see at night and in their pitch black tunnels, however they can only see several feet in front of them before it cuts to total darkness. This coupled with heightened senses they likely have with their insect antennae allows them to work day and night, with or without any sources of light nearby.

**Demolition Expert:** Though a capable fighter with her fists or digging tools, Saffron's expertise with their nest's bomb-rocks is where she shines the most. Capable of using individual bombs in combat or rigging up an extremely destructive excavation with their nest's mining, Saffron knows how to use their explosives to great effect. She typically carries a satchel filled with bombs, either for mining purposes or for combat use.

## Development

Saffron is first encountered in Act IX when Daniel's group comes across her during one of their nest's underground mining operations. To slow down The Sisterhood's movements in the land Saffron's nest was dropping entire landscapes into pits by blowing up everything underground to create roadblocks, one of which drove Daniel's carriage into an underground cavern where Clover and Kroanette meet Saffron who fell into Clover's lap during the cave-in. Although Daniel tries to talk to Saffron in hopes they found another possible ally it's clear right from the start that she not only has zero interest in his beliefs but also thinks nothing of him either. Even after discussing his beliefs with Squeak backing him up Saffron still declares him a fool along with Squeak. Seeing that she's not interested in talking more about it and learning that an audience with her queen is impossible due to their nest being at war Daniel and Saffron part ways.

Saffron is then seen next in Act X where she confronts Daemon and Mika who fell into one of the red ant girls' digging caverns along with his other girls. Believing they are all part of The Sisterhood Saffron attacks Daemon while Mika is detained, only for Daemon to beat her quickly in combat and even save her from one of her own bombs going off in her face. Daemon makes it clear that they are not part of The Sisterhood and are instead interested in putting an end to them, with Saffron offering a truce between them so they can focus on their common goal. After reuniting with Sasha and the other girls who were wrongly sent to an ant-lioness pit to be executed as criminals Saffron and Daemon's group agree to work together with fighting The Sisterhood. It is then that the ant girls discover a hidden City of Eden beneath their nest, this one having an imprisoned Aeon within it and Nuci as her guardian. Saffron learns what Daemon is fighting to prevent from happening to the world and also what he actually is, and shortly after is given news that her queen has fallen to The Sisterhood. Although heartbroken and shocked with everything happening all at once she is given reassurance from Daemon that her nest isn't finished and her queen will be avenged, something that helps her regain her composure and escalate her affection towards him.

With her nest and many sisters as support Saffron has allied herself with Daemon in hopes they can bring down The Sisterhood together and avenge her fallen queen. She has also taken a serious interest in Daemon and has made it clear to the other girls she intends to remain with him and become his mate.

## Harem Role

Saffron's role in the harem is the demolitionist. While with the aid of her nest she's able to provide Daemon's group with intel on enemy movements in the land as well as transportation across Koskaysil, Saffron remains by Daemon's side and personally aids him in combat. Her primary skill and method of fighting is using bombs to blow up whatever is in their way. This is not only her most powerful way of helping in a fight but also the most preferred, as evidenced in Act XI when she was tasked with blowing up debris in a collapsed tunnel and the way she clearly expressed her eagerness at the chance to do so.