Of Men and Spiders

She watched through her eyes as the tool users traveled a surprisingly long way. At one point, the smaller male seemed to falter, so the larger female directed them to take a break, seated on a fallen tree. Eventually, the female pulled out one of those odd scentless pouches they'd gathered from back at their original nest and tore it open, handing some of the contents to the smaller male before consuming some herself.

Between bites, the more prominent female produced odd vibrations from the orifice she used to consume. Perhaps the vibrations helped in the digestion process? Occasionally the smaller male also produced similar vibrations, but their intensity was much lower and shorter in duration. It's possible that he may not have required as many vibrations due to his smaller stature.

Once the two beasts moved on, She directed an eye and hand to approach the torn skin of the pouch. The residue on the inside indicated a highly concentrated caloric produce. Interesting, it must be some kind of nut whose shell relied more on scentlessness than hardness to deter consumption. She noted that if she stumbled across any more such nuts with her hands and eyes, She needed to retrieve them and bring them back to her core.

Already She's observation of the clever tool users were paying off.

-

Scott frowned. Alice still wasn't communicating much. When they'd stopped for lunch, he'd talked about anything he could think of, from the weather to the forest. Anything...other than their mom and what had happened to them not so long ago. Her few responses were short and curt, as though her mind was clearly elsewhere. Of course, she was still in shock, that was obvious, but he wondered if there was anything he could do to help. Or if there was anything he should do. For that matter, why was he not just as lost within himself? Then again, thinking back to that...thing and how he'd frozen at first but snapped out of it when Alice grabbed his pants, it suddenly made sense. He was in survival mode, not just for himself but also for his sister.

Thinking back to what he's learned in his explorer training, Scott suspected that he was also in shock, but his adrenaline was countering its effects, which meant he needed to act before the reaction wore off and he crashed.

They had enough food for several days, which meant shelter was their first priority. Something that would protect them from the elements in case it started to rain or got cold, and maybe slow down any more of those...things that might be lurking about.

After a bit more walking, he came across a large fallen tree with a considerable amount of dirt still sticking to its roots, providing a dirt wall. Setting down his improvised pack and telling Alice to stay next to it, Scott started looking for large dead branches or small fallen trees, keeping sight of his sister at all times. Soon, he'd dragged enough branches back to create a lean-to against the fallen tree roots and started placing and weaving smaller branches into them, making a loose frame. Once the frame was done, he gathered leaves and other debris from the forest floor and matted them against his frame.

As the evening wore on, he pulled out more survival food packs he'd gathered for him and his sister to eat. Once dinner was over, he gathered up some more sticks and branches, placing them at the bottom of his lean-to to keep them off the ground, and on top of those, he put another layer of dry leaves from the forest floor to provide a soft surface from them to sit or lay on. By the time he was done, the sun was setting, and it was getting dark enough that continuing to bumble about in the forest would be ineffective at best. Instead, he told Alice to climb inside the lean-to, so she was sitting at the back against the dirt shield the tree roots provided, and he sat in the front, near the door he'd left.

While he'd worked, Scott had also set aside as many straight sticks close to his height in length as he could find. Now that he had nothing else to do, he pulled out his pocket knife and started sharpening one in hopes of creating a small arsenal of wooden spears. Or at least he meant to, but his eyes grew heavy partway through. He told himself he's only close them for a minute, but one minute turned into two, then three, and soon he was asleep, curled up in a tight ball, and in his dreams, he was wandering through the forest, looking for Alice, who'd somehow gotten lost while large skittering creatures followed him from nearby shadows.

-

She watched as the larger female continued to take charge while the smaller male continued to provide no apparent benefit. Yet it was clear the female was protective of the other member of its...pack? There was obviously a strong bond keeping them together, but it seemed mostly one way, with all the benefits going to the smaller male.

As She dragged in the body of a local mammal she'd found near the remnants of her fallen home, She ordered her creating body to begin consumption while She continued to observe the two tool users.

As She watched, the female started creating an intricate structure, weaving sticks and branches together, then layering leaves on top of the sticks. This would provide quite adequate protection from cold or rain, at least in the short term, but such a structure wouldn't last long without constant maintenance. Still, for such a complex structure to be built so quickly indicated either an advanced evolutionary instinct or planning and problem-solving far above the average beast. She was beginning to suspect that they may even possess low-level self-awareness...

-

Scott awoke the following day with a start and immediately reached for one of the few mostly completed spears he had at his feet. He swore he could hear skittering in the nearby underbrush for a second, but when he stopped to listen, it was gone. After a few minutes to calm his breathing and slow his heart, he told himself it was probably the last remnants of his dream. At least, he sincerely hoped so...

The sounds of something stirring next to him drew Scott's attention as Alice sat up, rubbing her eyes, before looking blankly out the lean-to and uttering, "I gotta pee..."

Scott nodded and climbed out of their shelter, allowing Alice to free herself as well, but when she started to walk behind a tree, he stopped her. "Listen, if you see or hear anything, just shout, and I'll be right there."

Alice nodded, but her eyes still seemed unfocused as she stared into the distance. Finally, Scott let her go, and his sister went behind a tree to take care of business while Scott began to prepare breakfast. Not that it took much preparation. How much effort went into opening a pack and eating survival rations?

Of course, that brought up other questions. Were they truly alone? He hadn't seen their mom when he'd returned to camp, and she was in no condition to defend herself while going through withdrawals. He took a heavy breath and accepted she was likely dead, but he didn't have time to think about that too much right now. And he had no idea when Alice's dad would come back to pick them up or how they'd find him when he did. Though from what he remembered, this place was a popular vacation planet for those who liked to explore and camp in the wilderness, so it was possible they'd come across other humans sooner or later, though given the vastness of the forest they were camped in, it was better not to plan on it. He'd have to assume an indefinite stay, which meant he'd have to replace the survival rations soon and build a more permanent living structure. One that he could defend if more of those...things showed up.

At least the climate here was in his favor. The planet had a minimal tilt to its axis, so while the seasons might change slightly, they probably wouldn't have to worry about snow and ice anytime soon.

That was when Scott realized Alice was taking longer than she should have. His heart went into overdrive, and he grabbed a spear while the world seemed to slow around him. Tearing across the clearing toward the tree his sister had gone behind, Scott tried not to think of spider monsters dragging his sister away, but when he got there, all he saw was Alice curled up in a ball, crying.

Having his emotions go from terrified to awkward so suddenly just left Scott standing there, unsure of how to act before his sister looked up at him with tears in her eyes and snot dribbling down her face. "I want Mommy!"

Finally, Scot shook off his confusion, dropped the spear, and knelt to hug his sister. "I know, munchkin, I know. I do too, but I don't know where she's at or even if she can help us... I don't know... I mean, I don't think..."

At a loss for words, Scott felt his breath shake a little as it became harder to breathe. That was when Alice lunged forward, grabbed Scott into a big hug, and held on for dear life. Unsure of what to do or say and feeling the weight of everything that had happened to them yesterday, Scot finally broke down too.

-

She watched the odd behavior of the two tool users. What was the purpose of this clinging and the new air vibrations they were creating? She reconsidered her earlier assumptions about the vibrations being used for food consumption. More likely, it was some form of primitive communication. Was this a mating ritual like the ones some primitive dimorphic animals use to attract mates? Or maybe the female was adjusting the male's DNA or physiology to make him more useful in their current situation? He did seem to be a blank until now, waiting for its specialization to be imposed.

Taking stock of her creating body, She decided it had enough nutrients to start expanding again. She instructed it to begin reproducing more hands and eyes. She would not yet replace her creating body, though, damaged as it was. It was stable, and she wanted to learn more about what was necessary for survival on this planet before stitching together her new self's genetic structure.