Arachne

 

"Nnghnn... Just let me sleep a little longer, mum. This bed is so cozy. Only five more minutes. Don't pull at my back. I am sensitive there and the spider legs are out." (N)

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.

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Spider legs?

No!

No, no!

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!!!

I have spider legs!
They extend from my back and surround me.
This isn't real!
This was a dream!
I didn't turn into a spider!

I try to pull those legs away from my body.
But they are so strong!
It would probably be easier to rip my normal legs out.
They are simply too firmly attached to my body.

 

"Aaahhhhhh!" (N)

 

I scream and get flung around in my sheet.
While I experience terror, I lay waste to my bed.

Please legs!
Go back to where you came from!
After I grow too exhausted to flail anymore everything slows down, and I manage to remember the muscle that pulls them back inside.
I know there isn't enough space in my back for these huge things, but I think it has something to do with the magical nature of monsters.
Goddess, I'm a monster!!!

The sorry condition of the bed concurs.
Even my tears still fizzle a bit on the surface.

This is all real.
I'm here with those Arachnes.
Was that the right term?
Not important!

What should I do now?
I can't act like nothing is wrong.
Nonetheless, I have no means to really do anything about my situation.
So to say, I'm naked in a shut-off room with nothing in it.

Wait that's not true; there at the entrance.
I move to the spot and find a meticulously displayed set of clothes.
Besides some weird undergarments that look far too slim, there is an especially beautiful one-piece gown.
Everything is in a glistening white.

Since my panic made the sheet I used before unwearable and I cannot see any ill intent with this I try it on.
The only problem is, I am quite sure I know what it is made of.
Nonetheless, the composition is entirely different from the spiderwebs I know.
It is far cleaner and not the slightest bit sticky.

I start with these odd undergarments, hoping that I was right with my assessment as foreign as they look.
Because I have a sense of shame I don't want to stay naked, so I need to put them on.
These undergarments are far smaller than those I'm used to, but they should still be better than nothing, I hope.
Strangely, they're quite comfortable once I put them on.

The fabric barely leaves an impression on my skin, so fine are the threads.
I don't know how to react to this, but I assume that creating these pieces should require an incredible effort.
Could a human tailor even come close to creating something like this?

Eventually, I also put the gown on.
Appalled, I notice that the gown leaves the back free.
And I know exactly why this is so.
I am distressed by this accommodation of my condition.

Now that I'm done, I don't know what else to do.
I am scared to leave this room and encounter whatever is out there.

Can I leave?

The web is closed at the place where I entered.

Maybe I just need to press there?
I try, but can't find the right spot.

Am I trapped?
No, I don't think that after all they did to me, I would now get killed.

Still, I grow uneasy and this little itch beneath my skin gets a little worse.
When I was in my sac, it was unbearable.
Now, however, it settled down so much that I am able to ignore it completely.
But in moments like this, the stress makes it very present again.

Lacking other options, I lean myself back against the remains of my bed.
I don't know how long I'll stay like this but I have nothing else to do.

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.

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I wait for a while and get quite startled when I suddenly hear a voice.

 

"Ehm, hello? Are you awake? Y-you might not know me, but Talisa said you should be hungry, so I brought you a bit."

 

I am starving!
All I had yesterday was this broth, which wasn't enough.
And it wasn't broth!!!

I'm so hungry, but they'll surely bring me the same as yesterday and I don't want to feed on humans.
What can I do?

 

"Please let me come in. I know you might be angry at us, but at least let me help you! You need to eat!"

 

I am more scared than angry.
This whole situation goes beyond my comprehension.
Besides my itch got a little worse with the hunger and I can't stand to starve any longer.
In addition, there is this girl desperately pleading with me to let her in.
Although I don't know how to open it.
But she should know.
I cannot see her, so I might be able to speak to her without succumbing to my fear.

 

"I don't know how to open it." (N)

"Oh, ahh!! Yes, of course. How would you? I-I'll enter now!"

 

Did I agree to this?
The wall pulls itself apart in the middle and forms a circle where the doorway is.

Right after this, she enters.
To my surprise, I encounter a frail girl.
She has red hair of a very dark tone, dark green eyes, and wears a violet gown.

As I said she looks quite frail while carrying this liquid sac, which seems like it was as well sewn with threads.
However, that's not saying much when she can turn into a huge spider at any moment.
Which is something I cannot ignore!

Yet surprisingly she seems to be the shy one.

 

"H-Hello I-I'm Eritu. Sorry b-but I'm not good at talking. Talisa said you might prefer to eat alone, or drink, rather, eheheh." (E)

 

The hunger wears me out but there's something I have to know.

 

"I-Is this from humans?" (N)

"N-no! S-sorry that's an issue, right? Deer, if I am right, mostly. The last h-human was emptied yesterday. P-please don't hold it against Talisa. She j-just judged that it might be best for you to overcome this a-as soon as possible." (E)

 

The way she's speaking she sounds very insecure and fidgets with her hands.
I think I can drink deer, even if it's this weird organ soup, under the assumption that it tastes like yesterday.
But the way she speaks about eating humans as something completely normal is scary.

She hands the sac she’s carrying to me from the greatest possible distance and scurries back as soon I manage to bring myself to grab it.
I decide to drink it with the utmost caution, wary of what I ingest here.
However, the taste is pleasant and despite the disgusting ingredients my hunger takes over and I gulp it down.
Meanwhile, Eritu, the frail red-haired girl, has walked to the wall beside the hole.

 

"Ehm, you should know this. The part with the doors is not very complicated. If you want to open it, you just need to find the vertical strands and pull at them. And to close it, you pull the horizontal ones." (E)

 

She pushes her nails into the wall, which are as long as mine, and pushes down.
Immediately the hole closes.
I feel trapped with her, despite knowing that she just showed me how it works.

This causes me to look at my elongated nails.
I nibbled at them in the time I waited by my bed, but they are too hard for my teeth to damage them.
Still, am I trapped if they break, unable to open any rooms?

Apparently, Eritu noticed how I stared at them and speaks up.

 

"Oh, you don't need to worry about your nails! They grow back immediately should something happen to them." (E)

 

This revelation is distressing.
What’s even worse is that she came closer while saying this.
Then she notices the state of my bed.

 

"Oh, did you have a nightmare? Don't worry, we will rearrange it for you." (E)

 

No, I didn’t have a nightmare.
Reality is far more terrifying than any dream!
And it’s only made worse by what I notice next.

 

"Gaahhh!" (N)

 

There is a huge spider on her shoulder.
Hairy, in a reddish-brown color.
Eritu doesn’t look like a spider right now, but this is the real deal.

 

"Are you alright?" (E)

 

While she says this, she leans forward and another spider comes into view on her other shoulder, marginally smaller in black.
Cold shivers are rushing down my skin, the prickling itch grows stronger, and I try to squirm away on the bed.

 

"What is wrong?" (E)

 

She asks with concern in her voice.

 

"S-s-spi-spi-spiders!" (N)

"Do you mean Sora and Toru? Y-you don't need to worry. They are so friendly! Aren't they cute?" (E)

 

As she speaks she starts to pet those monsters.
First the red then the black.

Wait a moment!
She is the monster!

No, this isn't good.
This isn't good!

 

"They aren't going to do anything to you." (E)

"T-then they sh-shall stay w-where they a-are! Or better yet, leave!" (N)

 

I need a breather.
Some space for myself.

 

"Are you really alright? You look so pale!" (E)

"I'm always pale since you all did this to me!!! Please can you go now?" (N)

"F-fine, i-if you want. But a-actually I came because I had a question on my mind." (E)

"A qu-question? Then ask i-if you must, as long as you leave afterwards." (N)

 

These spiders must go!

 

"I became a bit worried, especially when Talisa told me about your issues. So I wanted to ask, are they still alright?" (E)

 

Huh?

They?