Scott sat still, holding his sister while waiting for the killing blow to land. He was oddly thankful that they got to die together. It meant she wouldn't suffer a slow death without him there to care for her, and he wouldn't struggle to find a reason to keep going while all alone in this cruel world. Though he kind of wished the spider-mantis-monster-thing would just get on with it already. Why was it drawing things out like this?

Eventually, Alice started struggling a little. "You're being silly!"

That got Scott to crack one eye open, then two. His sister was giggling while struggling in his grasp while the spider-mantis-monster-thing still sat back, its head tilted slightly to the side, like a dog, as if trying to understand what it was seeing. Of course, that made two of them.

What did the monster want? The mouth-spider was still sitting astride what was now a relatively less horrific spider monster, given Scott's new perspective. Back at his camp, it had seemed to encourage Scott to come to challenge this...thing, but now it seemed content to simply sit and watch. If anything, Scott suspected it was working with the spider-mantis-monster-thing, like the big one was a queen or something. That would make sense, as well as luring him here to make an easy meal out of him, but why did it hesitate now? Was it like some mammals back home, playing with its food? If so, could Scott somehow use that to his advantage?

That was when the spider-mantis-monster-thing moved, but not to attack or threaten them. Instead, it settled into place. Scott could tell several of its legs seemed injured, and as he looked closer, one of its bladed arms didn't seem functional. Not that he'd want to fight it, even with those factors in his favor, he doubted he could do more than mildly annoy this thing before it bisected him, but it seemed content to sit back and watch. Of course, if this was some sort of queen in a hive structure, that made sense. It would probably just have its drones do the killing.

Scott was so focused on the spider-mantis-monster-thing that he didn't notice when Alice squirmed free and walked over to one of the normal spider-monsters until she started speaking to it. "Ummm, I'm kind of thirsty again. Can you bring me some water and maybe some for Scott too?"

Scott was about to lunge over and grab his sister, but rather than attack, the spider-monster simply turned and walked away. That confused Scott more. "What...what just happened?

Alice turned to Scot and smiled. "I asked for more water!"

Feeling a headache coming on, Scott tried to clarify. "More water? As in, you've done this before?"

Alice nodded. "Yup!"

Scott shook his head. "And they just bring some to you? Just like that?"

Alice nodded. "Yup!"

Scott felt like his mind was suddenly stuck going in circles as he tried to understand just what was happening and how this could benefit the spider hive in any way. "But... That... I don't... How..."

His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of two spider-monsters carrying two bowls of water if one used a very loose definition of the word bowl. They looked almost like flesh stretched over bones of some kind... Alice reached out and grabbed a bowl when Scott interrupted her. "Don't drink that!"

Alice lowered the bowl a little. "Why not?"

Scott looked at the other bowl in concern. "These 'bowls' look like they're organic. Who knows what that's doing to the water. It's probably not safe to drink!"

Alice simply smiled and shook her head. "I tried some earlier. It seemed fine!" Then, leaning in to whisper quietly, she added. "Just don't ask for any food! The stuff they have is slimy and tastes like spit!"

That made Scott gag a little, but then he suddenly remembered the presence of the spider-mantis-monster-thing. Though it seemed content to sit back and watch. If anything, Scott would say it was amused, though he had no idea how he got that impression.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

While Scott was distracted, Alice picked up the bowl again and took another drink before Scott could stop her. Leaving Scott struggling as he switched focus again. "Wait! No! Don't!"

But it was too late. Alice lowered her bowl and smiled. Looking down at his bowl, Scott couldn't help but realize just how dry his mouth was. If his sister was already poisoned, was there any reason for him to continue resisting? Fighting the urge to fling it away, Scott picked up a bowl and carefully sniffed it before drinking. The water was lukewarm, but he couldn't tell if the odd musky taste was because of the water itself or the scent in the air affecting his sense of taste. Either way, he couldn't bring himself to drink much, just enough to wet his mouth a little. Alice didn't seem as inhibited as she steadily finished her bowl before handing it back to the spider, who gently grasped it in its fangs and walked away.

By now, Scott was numb. He didn't know how to feel. This was all so...absurd. Spider monsters were talking to him. His sister was talking to spider monsters, and they did as she asked. They were standing in a room with the biggest, scariest spider monster of them all, calmly enjoying a bowl of water, as if they'd been invited to some sort of eldritchian tea party! He started laughing and didn't stop for a full minute.

At first, Alice seemed confused, but then she apparently decided to go with it and started laughing as well. Leaving the two siblings laughing hysterically in front of a living nightmare, who seemed content to simply sit and watch, like a puppy trying to understand the words its human was using.

Enough time went by, and eventually, the laughter faded, and Scott returned his attention to the spider-mantis-monster-thing, then, after a moment's thought, over to the spider-mouth. "Why did you bring me here? What was the point of all this?"

The Spider-mouth seemed to stop and consider before answering simply, "Munchkin."

Scott was silent momentarily, expecting more, but when it didn't seem forthcoming, he prodded further. "Yes, my sister, but you said I had to come to get her from, I can only assume this creature," he indicated the spider-mantis-monster-thing. "'or else,' but you never said what might happen."

The mouth-spider remained silent, looking up at the human. Scott was getting more and more frustrated. "What would have happened?!?"

Finally, the spider monster spoke again. "Bad." Then it was done again.

Scot felt himself tense. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and throttle the insufferable thing but restrained himself. As much as the spider monsters didn't seem interested in attacking them right now, it was probably best not to provoke them. Instead, he took several deep breaths and tried again. "Okay, but what am I supposed to do now?"

The mouth-spider simply said. "Get munchkin."

Scott took another deep breath and tried again. "Alright, I have my sister. What now?"

The mouth spider thought a moment, then answered. "Go."

Scott furrowed his brow as he struggled to understand. This creature seemed capable of speech, but perhaps he'd overestimated its understanding. Obviously, this was a very primitive mind he was communicating with, but it seemed to be, well, if not friendly, it was at least non-hostile. As far as giant nightmare spider monster neighbors could go, this was pretty high in the "as good as it gets" category.

After a moment of consideration, Scott decided he was just done with everything...at least for now. "Alright then. I'll take my sister and go if that's alright."

The mouth-spider remained silent, and the spider-mantis-monster-thing remained passive as Scott reached out and took his sister's hand before stopping and turning back. "Ummm... How do I get back to our camp from here?"

In answer, the mouth spider and its mount walked ahead of Scott, leading them out of the cave and away from the spider-mantis-monster-thing, which seemed content to remain seated where it was.

-

She was quite pleased. As far as first interactions go, this was all she could have hoped for and more! The male tool user seemed almost at ease in the presence of She, and while the female was more...tense, even it tried to communicate directly with She near the end. She only wished She could have had the chance to better understand the tool user vibration language before this first meeting, as She understood less than half of what was being said, doing her best to extrapolate meaning from context and motion. But the universe was rarely compliant with the desires of She, so She should simply appreciate that things had gone this well so far.

Still, this was only the beginning of their relationship. Now that She had established direct contact with the tool users, it would probably be best to take advantage of their good relations so far. She would try to be more directly involved with these tool users, hoping they might accept and even work with She more readily going forward.

-

As he finally walked out of that nightmare inspired place, Scott breathed a sigh of relief. Being free of those dark and humid tunnels and back under the fresh air and sunshine felt good. Of course, they were still trapped in a pretty dire situation, but at least the spider monsters he'd been so frightened of seemed willing to coexist peacefully. That alone was a huge load off his mind. And who knows, now that they'd gotten a good look at Scott and his sister, they may be less interested in hanging around. This may be the last time he'd have to deal directly with those things! With that cheerful thought in Scott's mind, he smiled as he walked.