The first thing Lacy noticed as they approached the site her kids were staying at was more of the spider things. A lot more. Just how many were there? Thinking back to the swarm that attacked the pirate and assuming that wasn't a large portion of the hive population, she had to estimate at least a hundred. Thinking of a hundred dog-sized spiders swarming over anything in their path, she couldn't help but be worried about her kids being so close to the hive.

As they walked into the clearing, it became clear that her estimate might have been conservative. The activity coming in and out of the hive dwarfed the number of spiders that had accosted the pirate. It was a constant stream of spiders of different sizes and shapes. The majority looked like the basic kind of spider, but there were several eye-covered spiders and others she couldn't guess the function of.

Almost immediately after, she saw something that made her halt. Standing nearly seven feet tall, with a bottom half like most of the spiders wandering around and a top half like some cross between a praying mantis and a person, stood a creature right out of a nightmare. But Scott didn't hesitate. He walked right up to the thing, looking incredibly vulnerable next to it, and spoke with it as if it was just some babysitter. "So, how was Alice?"

The...thing tilted its head, moving its arms as it spoke, similar to how a human might. "Alice is asleep. Everything is fine. Although, you know you could have asked me that at any time, right?" Lacy was shocked to notice this spider didn't have the same flat-sounding voice as the other smaller talking spider. It sounded very human despite coming out of...whatever that was.

Scott seemed unbothered. "Yeah, I know, but I gotta say something when returning to camp, and that just feels right."

The spider monster shook its head. "I see. More human social rules. Should I greet you whenever one of my selves comes back?"

Looking at the steady stream of spiders going in and out of the hive, Scott shook his head. "Umm, no, that's fine. Let's just leave it as a human rule for now."

Not being able to take much more, Lacy walked up to the... giant spider monster and interrupted the two of them. "Um, excuse me, sorry, but could I see Alice now? Please?"

Scott nodded as if remembering she hadn't seen her baby girl in several weeks. "Oh, yeah, of course. She's in our hut over here."

He led Lacy toward a vine-covered building she'd initially mistaken for an overgrown boulder, but when he opened the door it became clear this was a building of some sort. However, any amazement at the building itself was wiped away when a familiar voice called out. "Brother, are you home?"

Scott answered quietly. "Yeah, and I brought someone with me..."

Lacy didn't wait any longer. She rushed inside, seeing a very sleepy-looking Alice sitting up and rubbing her eyes. Lacy embraced her daughter in a smothering hug while the girl's sleepy mind slowly processed what was happening. "Wha.... Mom? Is that you?"

Lacy only squeezed tighter. "Yes, baby, mommy is back!"

-

Scott watched his mom's tearful reunion with Alice. His feelings on the matter may be complicated due to recent discoveries, but Alice felt no such compunctions and eagerly returned their mom's hug. "We thought you were gone!"

Unwilling to let go, their mom hugged the girl even more firmly while she spoke. "Well, I'm back! And I don't plan to leave you alone out here ever again!" Scott had to admit, it was nice to see the tearful reunion despite everything going on.

It was hard to tell what Charlotte, who was standing next to Scott, was thinking, though he assumed it would take the form of a question. He wasn't wrong. "What will happen now that your mother is back?"

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Scott shrugged. "Long term, I don't know. Based on your description, neither of the landing shuttles are in any condition to fly, but they might still have some gear worth scavenging."

Lacy seemed to hear this and finally released Alice, who was unwilling to relinquish her mom's hand. "Going near those landing shuttles could be dangerous. What if they're being monitored?"

Scott shrugged. "Maybe, but any supplies they have might make the difference between life and death out here. I mean, aside from a saw, axe, and pocket knife, pretty much everything I have out here is stone-age tech that I've slapped together. Hell, at this point, I'd kill for a change of clothes!"

Lacy frowned. "Don't be so crude. You're too intelligent to talk like that!"

Scott was about to call out her hypocrisy, what with being a pirate and all, but she looked around in wonder and continued. "You built all this? This hut wasn't the ramshackle building I was expecting! You've even got a fireplace and a tiled roof!" Then, looking outside, she continued. "And your garden! I thought it was going to be a small little five-by-five plot of land, but you've got rows of a dozen types of plants growing here! How'd you set all this up in just under a month?"

The compliments melted away Scott's annoyance as he responded. "Well, this was done in about a week, actually."

His mom looked at him in confusion. "Did you say a week?"

Scott nodded. "Yup! We moved recently, remember? Though, I can say a lot of this is only possible because of Charlotte's help. We haven't installed a well yet, so for now, all the water for managing the crops is being handled by her."

His mom looked even more confused. "A well? Do you even know how to build such a thing?"

Scott shrugged. "More or less. Working around here, I can tell the water table is relatively close to the surface. Just dig down until the hole fills with water, line the hole with stones to keep the dirt from filling back in, make a bucket, and you're done. Though having a crank over the well might also be a good idea..."

Looking around, his mom still looked at a loss. "Where would you put the well? How are you going to dig a well? You don't even have any shovels!"

After only a moment of consideration, Scott shrugged again. "Well, a shovel is easy enough to make. I can just shape some wood into one without too much effort. The dirt around here is soft enough that it'll do the job just fine. As for the placement? I want it to be close enough to the garden and hut to be convenient but far enough away that I don't have to worry about contamination."

Lacy furrowed her brows. "Contamination?"

Scott nodded. "Yeah, I figure I'll set up a basin in the hut for washing purposes, which will save us a few trips to the creek now and then. Also, I don't want any of the fertilizer from the field contaminating the water from the well."

His mom looked concerned. "Fertilizer... do you mean..?"

It took a little effort to keep from grinning at his mom's expression. "Yup, our waste. Though we don't just chuck it out there as is. Once again, Charlott comes to the rescue. She removes it for us, and what she returns is basically just enriched soil...minus most of the less desirable contaminants."

Lacy looked... concerned. "Do...do I want to know what 'Charlotte' does to process the waste?"

Charlotte bent down a little to address the two humans. "Human biology is inefficient at removing all the nutrients from matter after consumption. All I do is remove more of the nutrients. The byproduct left after I've consumed matter is less biologically active and thus more safe for human handling."

Lacy looked sick while Scott laughed. It took a moment to catch his breath before he spoke. "You know, I always suspected something like that but didn't have the courage to ask! Be careful what you ask, Mom. Charlotte will answer!"

Lacy nodded while slightly covering her mouth. "Yes, I know that now..." Then, looking around as if searching for a distraction, she pointed toward a spot of mangled and dug-up dirt. "Is that another project you're working on? Another garden or building of some kind?"

Scott grinned as he shook his head. "No, that's not one of my projects. That's all Alice and Charlotte's doing."

Their mom looked between Scott and Alice several times while Alice hid her face and giggled. Finally, Lacy spoke again. "Alice and Charlotte? What are they working on? Something Charlotte designed?"

Scott shook his head again, his grin getting even bigger. "Nope. This is one hundred percent Alice's idea! You want to explain it to mom, munchkin?"

Alice hopped up and down, though she still didn't let go of her mom's hand. "That's where I taught Charlotte how to play hopscotch! She's kind of heavy, so it ruins the board after a bit. But it's funny, so I don't mind making a new one!"

Their mom was starting to resemble a bobblehead with how she kept looking back and forth between Alice and Charlotte before turning to Scott. "She's joking, right?"

Scott simply smiled and shook his head. "Nope. And it's really a sight to see, trust me! However, one I've been curious about for a while is when she supposedly taught Charlotte how to hula-hoop. I wasn't here when it happened, so I have no idea what that looks like!"

Lacy blinked a few times, struggling in vain to mentally process the image. "...What..?"