Trees consume the horizon. Pillars of moss-covered bark extend from the ground, meeting the ceiling and plunging their roots into the stone both above and below. A thick canopy of leaves fill the middle layer of the cavern, rustling with life as they drink up the light emitting from within their embrace. Dense foliage peppers the ground and ceiling, picking up the leftover rays of light spilling through from the canopy.

Bustling sounds of ruffling foliage, tiny scritches, and the distant flap of small wings encompass the forest. A stark contrast to the near silence of the floor above. The sounds of life are accentuated by the soft tones of a singing voice. At least, that's one way of describing the unholy abomination of police sirens and screeches of static emanating from the practicing dragon.

What a nice place. And my voice practice is going really well too! Not held back by the limits of mortal vocal chords, Aleph tugs directly at her voice box, vibrating it in varying frequencies as she learns the excruciatingly difficult task of making a specific sound by waggling a flap of meat really fast. Granted, her volume is kept fairly low, but the unnatural synthesised tones and screeches are sufficient to scatter any unsuspecting wildlife unfortunate enough to lay an ear to the unholy abomination of audial torture.

Bloop finds herself in the immensely awkward spot of sitting atop the direct source of the heathenistic sounds and also having no way to block the sound by virtue of spiders detecting sound through direct vibrations, rather than blockable ears. Truly a most unfortunate fate for the seething arachnid. Even binding the dragon's snout shut only slightly muffled the sound, due to her being a freak of nature who can form any sound without moving her mouth.

A squeal of euphoric relief is heard as the dragon finally ceases her daily tortu-practice session. Spotting some nice looking fruit on a tree above, she scrambles up the trunk, sinking her claws into the mossy bark as she hoists herself to the canopy. Climbing up to a thick branch, she walks along its length, pausing above a bundle of pink, coconut-shaped fruit.

After awkwardly prying off the tightly woven muzzle, with no help offered by the irritated spider, Aleph uses her long tail to spear a fruit from above, pulling it up as milky-pink juices trickle off her tail. Slicing the fruit in half, she lets Bloop hop off to lay claim to her portion of the meal. Leaning down, Aleph gives her half a sniff. Smells nice... This might be my first decent meal in... my whole life? Yep, it counts, I can say that. She leans in, opens her mouth and... chomp!

Sweet juices drench over her palette, soaking into her mouth as a flavourful ecstasy of soft, fibrous bliss absorbs into her taste-buds. Days of gooey toxic plants and literal rocks wash away as if but a dream, leaving only the tender bliss of fruity goodness in its wake.

Through the eyes of a seething spider

What is this dragon? Why is this dragon? Those are not the sounds a normal creature makes! Lyla stews, nibbling on her fruit as she tends to her throbbing headache. Clearly bad at math too... How am I supposed to eat this entire thing?! It's bigger than me! I suppose its perspective might be skewed by the freaky dragon ability to just endlessly consume ten times their body weight, but still! Just cut off amounts proportional t-is it crying?

Wait, is the fruit really that go-ooh, holy shit! I've been feeding this child on a diet of nothing but poison and rocks! No wonder it reacts so viscerally to a half decent tasting fruit! No wonder it's such a freak! I'm a bad parent! Am I a parent? Whatever I am, I'm bad at it! I still haven't even given it a name! Lyla skitters around in a mild panic as the dragon stands dazed, not even swallowing as it simply basks in the flavour dancing between its jaws, small tears of joy poking out the corners of its violet eyes.

Okay, okay, think... I've been to this floor before, there's some good stuff here. Birds are tasty right? Right! Let's baptise this dragon with the glorious flavourful experience of a random bird! Lyla sets to work, bouncing between branches as she weaves a net of webs. The dragon is pulled from its stupor by the movement, reluctantly swallowing as it watches Lyla dart across the trees. Fuahaha! Observe my glorious web crafting skills! Truly I embody the very essence of what it means to be a spider with such talents. Now we need only wait an-oh that was quick! "Huu!" Huu?

The web strains as a brown furred creature careens into it, flailing wildly with all four of its heavily built limbs and a thick prehensile tail. As it struggles and bites against the tough, sticky threads it becomes ever more entangled, howling in the panicked throes of a terrified beast. Strange bird... Didn't know there were any monkeys here. Are they tasty?

Lyla's step is halted by an obsidian tail. Looking up she gazes quizzically at the dragon, who's violet eyes peer analytically at the tangled primate, before meeting Lyla's with a shake. No? Why? You happily munch on literal dirt, but monkeys are a no go? Well, whatever. Not like I know how to prepare monkey steak anyway. And it does look kinda pitiful, the way it's looking all sulky and pouty... Okay it's kinda cute. I just can't eat that sad face. Let's set it free...

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

Skittering along the web, her heart pangs at the tremendously pitiful 'Don't eat me!' look the monkey gives her. I'm freeing you okay! Don't make me feel guilty about this! It's your fault for swinging into my trap in the first place! Lyla cuts at the binding threads, trying her best not to look at the tear filled eyes begging her for freedom. There, you're free. Now go monkey some-place else. "Hoo'oo Ha!" "Yes yes, hoo to you too." Lyla chitters in response as the monkey swings itself away.

Great... now I have to fix this web...

Through the eyes of a satiated dragon

That furry thing did look kinda tasty... but I draw the line at anything with an awakened soul. Also it was kinda cute. Aleph waves the furry creature goodbye with her tail as she watches Bloop rebuild her web with remarkable speed. She's pretty good at this. Makes sense for a larger than average, Mana-attuned spider. Unless... am I actually a smaller than average dragon? I am like, one or two days old, and these trees are pretty big... huh.

The pair wait on a nearby branch for prey to catch in the (probably) jumbo sized web. Aleph finishes off the remainder of the fruit, after Bloop nibbles her fill, savouring the blissful sensation of eating something better than rocks for lunch. Unlike their first catch, it takes a while for anything else to find its way into the webs. Eventually though, a large dark-grey bird with long strands of plumage, a sharp black beak, and thick, predatory talons plunges into the web in a failed attempt to slip through the unexpectedly sticky fibres.

Shrill shrieks and squawks fill the forest, distant creatures scattering at the sudden sound, until Aleph silences the bird with a swift swipe of her bladed tail. This one looks tasty! The amount of Aether is decent too. Not as much as the rock lizard, but still pretty good! Bloop seems almost disappointed, not being allowed to show off her amazing skills in prey elimination as the bird quickly drains of life.

Taking the lead, Bloop cuts the freshly acquired poultry free, letting it hang upside down to drain the blood. Hey wait, there's good Aether in that blood... Aleph's attempts to intervene are blocked by the chittering arachnid, seemingly insisting on handling it herself. Taking the hint, Aleph saunters away, finding a different part of the branch to watch the uncooperative spider from.

No, come on! Don't remove those... At least keep the head, that's where the most Aether-oh it's down there now... Ah! Not the skin too! Are you removing its organs? There's going to be nothing left! You're heading down now? Wait for me! Aleph slides down the tree after Bloop abseils the branch with their catch. Of course, she totally didn't just take the opportunity to amble over and scarf down the discarded giblets and bits while nobody was looking.

As Aleph reaches the forest floor she finds the tiny spider standing by a pile of sticks, using a makeshift bow drill on a dry log to start a fire. Okay, I knew she was smart but this feels like something else entirely. Is she actually from some hyper-advanced society of spiders or something? Ooh, maybe she's some kind-of lost princess of the secret underground spider kingdom!

Through the eyes of a possibly hyper-advanced spider princess

Fuahahaa! Behold! Fire! Oh shit, should've cleared the brush first! Don't wanna start a forest fire, especially underground. Wait, is it even safe to start a fire here at all? Well, there's trees and I remember hearing something about good ventilation in this place once, so I'm sure it's fine. Lyla skitters around her small fireplace, clearing away the loose shrubs and plants before constructing a large spit over the flames.

Fuehehe, indeed, yes marvel at my amazing technological prowess! This is the power of having a bunch of friends who teach you random-ass, normally useless things out of nowhere! Why are you staring at me instead of the fire though? Oh well, I'm sure you're just enamoured by my greatness. Lyla proudly puffs her tiny abdomen as she slowly spit roasts the prepped poultry over the course of two hours.

While I'm making this I should see about giving this dragon a name! How about Garchomp? Because it chomps at anything remotely edible! Or Goku? After all, it does seem to like monkeys for some reason... decisions decisions...

Through the eyes of a hungry dragon

Smells soo niiiice... Aleph watches impatiently as Bloop attentively roasts the divine smelling bird. She manages to occupy herself with rolling around, scritching at the trees, and catching and eating any nosey intruders attracted by the smell. As the flames die down, Bloop removes the roast from the spit, carrying it over to a pre-prepared bed of leaves and beckoning Aleph over.

Wait... You made this whole thing for me? Seeing the eager nods in response to Aleph's 'Who me?' gesture nearly brings a tear to the dragon's eye. Dammit, you are the best spider ever! And I'll hear nothing to the contrary! Aleph gives the chittering arachnid an affectionate boop of the snoot, before tearing off her first bite of the roast.

----------------------------------------

"King! King!" "What is it, young forager?" "I've encountered the most remarkable thing! Strange beasts with bizarre powers!" "Calm yourself forager. Explain from the beginning." "Yes. Yes! I was caught in the forest. Trapped in a cluster of white vines. Yet the vines were sticky and lifeless, unlike those of the upper domains! A creature of white light, master of these vines, made me as its prey. But it was halted, its hunger stayed by a beast of black! They spared me! I believe them to be emissaries of the great shadow and the almighty light!" "A fascinating tale young one. Where be they now?" "They remain in the upper woods. Hunting greatwings and chaseclaws." "See to it they are observed. Perhaps these new beasts will prove worthy."