Altered Bonds Extras
Omake 14 — Arachnophobia
(Best read after Chapter 17)
(Canon? — Maybe)
----------------------------------------
“Spider!”
Eira the Vulpix pulled back from her book as Sky Forme Shaymin thrust her paw toward her, a dusty brown spider wriggling in her grasp. The spider stared at Eira, and Eira stared at it.
She wasn’t an expert on spider expressions, but the little fella looked very confused. “Uh-huh,” said Eira, dragging her book off the flowery rug in Togetic and Shaymin’s room so she could go read in a corner.
Shaymin pouted. “Uh-huh?” she said. “That’s your reaction? Dude, it’s a freaky little spider, and it’s going to eat you! Be afraid!”
Eira’s stare fell on the Mythical. “So it’s a spider,” she said. “So what?”
“Come on, you can’t tell me you weren’t panicking inside! Even Togetic gets a little rattled when I do—”
Eira gently took the spider out of Shaymin’s paw, making her purse her lips. Pity adorned the vixen’s face as she beheld the bug, so deathly still. None of its legs looked bent or squished or anything, thank goodness.
“I’ll take it outside if you won’t.” Eira beheld Shaymin’s expression with a roll of her eyes. “It’s just a bug, you know.”
Shaymin took the spider back. “Huh,” she said. “Wow. Didn’t think you of all people would be so comfortable around spiders.”
“What do you mean?” Eira cocked an eye. “You think Ariados made me develop an irrational fear of spiders or something?”
The lack of response on Shaymin’s end said it all. Eira snorted, cold mist leaving her nostrils.
“A giant spider nearly stabbing me to death won’t make me freak out at tiny little ones that don’t have magic powers, Shaymin. That’s dumb.”
She had far more reason to be scared witless of the Pokemon natives in Haven archipelago, who’d likely treat her like Ariados originally had. Even with Shaymin as an ally, the Mythical herself was much scarier than some spider she could crush between her digits.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
“I-I guess. Logic really doesn’t add up now that I think of it.” Shaymin made sure the spider was safe and secure in her grasp, rubbing her head with her free paw. “But like, you’re completely chill with insects or something? Like I could throw a centipede at your face and it wouldn’t bother you?”
“You’re throwing something at my face, how would that not bother me?”
Eira winced a little at her raised tone. She took a deep breath, calming herself down, and put on a patient expression. “S-sorry,” she said. “But um, yeah, no, I can handle a bug. Even if they’re real icky and wriggly, though I’d rather not deal with those.”
“Eh, fair enough.” Shaymin moved away, Eira taking that as her cue to return to her book—
“Spider!”
Shaymin’s paw was right in her face, spider attached. Eira yelped at the intrusion of private space, the vixen backing up to glare at a giggling Shaymin. “Can you not?” she cried.
“Sorry, sorry, had to do it once!” Shaymin winked at her in between laughs. “It’s only a little spider, no need to be afraid of—”
Shaymin!”
Togetic’s shrill voice as she barged into their room made Vulpix stand erect. The angelic pounced upon Shaymin, pointing dramatically at the brown spider. “What are you doing?”
Doom. That was probably the best way to describe the scene flashing before Shaymin’s eyes. “U-uh— look, I can— it’s n-not what—” she stammered.
“I can’t believe you! Ariados’s tried to kill the poor girl at least twice, and you have the nerve to prey on her traumas for fun?” Togetic’s eyes enlarged as she noticed Eira staring, the angelic spinning Shaymin around so she couldn’t see the spider in her paw. “Have you no consideration for her well-being?”
Oh dear. “Togetic,” Eira tried to say, “I-I’m not afraid of—”
“She’s stammering!” cried Togetic, throwing Shaymin a metaphorical Mean Look. “First you terrify her, then you brainwash her into denying her fears?”
That Togetic could twist her words so, it left Eira in a bewildered stupor. “E-excuse me?” said Shaymin. “Hey, time out here, you’ve got this all wrong! I didn’t do anything of the sort—”
“And here I thought you were at least above such things! After everything poor Eira’s been through, after you took initiative to make up for our misunderstandings about the human—”
“This whole thing is a misunderstanding! Take it easy for a moment, Serene—”
“Don’t you dare ‘Serene’ me right now, Grace! You can’t possibly tell me—”
Eira’s vixen ears went flat in secondhand embarrassment as Togetic kept chewing Shaymin out. She tried speaking up again, but her words fell on deaf ears, the angelic ignoring her words.
Her book gathered dust in the corner. Eira considered moving elsewhere to read, before movement caught her eye. The brown spider was scurrying through the flowery rug — it must have leapt out of Shaymin’s paw while nobody had been looking.
It paused to turn back at Shaymin and Togetic, unable to understand why on earth they were arguing about it. Deciding to bring it somewhere more peaceful, Eira approached it—
“Oh my goodness, Eira, no!”
Togetic’s arms were covering her eyes, the gesture weirdly reminding Eira of the time Lucario had done the same when Corvisquire had snatched up a live rabbit for a meal. “Look away!” said Togetic. “The spider, Shaymin! Get it out of here!”
Eira pushed Togetic away with a little more force than she intended. She carefully scooped up the spider onto one of her tails, before taking in Togetic’s baffled face for a moment. An overly sweet smile crossed her face.
“You mind opening the door so I can take the poor spider outside?” she asked.