Goldie jerked back as if startled.

Sorry to startle you, Adon hurriedly sent. He hoped she wouldn’t just run away from the strange creature talking into her head. I guess I definitely activated Telepathy, then.

The spider stepped back toward the closest place on the web to where Adon was, and she stared down at him. He looked for recognition in her glossy, reflective black eyes, but he could discern nothing. He only saw his own reflection.

These damn expressionless insect faces, he thought.

Do you remember me? he sent.

You speak, Goldie thought back. Her tone sounded hesitant, halting. As if she had never done this before with anyone else. Or even had not thought verbally in a long time. Despite apparently being a bit rusty, her inner voice was soft. Gently flowing. Melodious. He would almost describe it as silky.

I do, he replied.

And you can read thoughts? she asked. Slightly perplexed, if he understood her tone.

Um. Huh. Are you not using Telepathy too?

No, she thought, shaking her head. Could not afford as juvenile. Option vanished with maturity. He easily believed her. She spoke in a tone of sincere regret. And her grammar was strangely broken, adding to the impression of someone who had not spoken to anyone else in a long time.

Without Telepathy, I guess she hasn’t spoken to anyone before in this life, he thought.

I do remember you, she sent. I was curious. Before. Who was this bug? Leading a squad of ants here.

Guilty. Adon felt embarrassed and almost reflexively moved to cover his face, but fortunately, he remembered that caterpillars could not blush.

Impressed you survived, she sent.

So am I, he replied. More impressed that you captured all of them. He tried to send the words with a flattering tone.

Glad you returned. Glad I did not eat you.

Ditto, Adon thought, laughing in his own mind.

So many days—months!—of silence. Her tone was melancholic. No one to talk to. You are a miracle.

I’m sorry to hear that, he sent.

Torture, she replied, shaking her head. Felt my sense of self fading. Animal nature taking over. Every day the same.

Adon wanted to smile and cry for her at the same time. I’m glad I’m here now.

Me too. Did not expect to be so happy to see silly caterpillar again. She gestured at him with a long leg. You have grown very large.

I got fat! Adon thought. Ahh! No!

No, healthy size, the spider hastened to reply. Never seen such success for caterpillar.

I’m the fattest caterpillar she’s ever seen! Adon placed his forelimbs on the sides of his head and tried to calm down. I should have known she’d see it that way. Looking up at her, he was nearly certain that besides her legs, he was larger than Goldie now.

And judging by the Kleptomaniac Dewdrop Spiders he’d seen earlier, she was a fairly big spider! How would a mate see him? Was he an obese caterpillar?

Um, uh, sorry. Do not leave! The spider’s tone was emotional. Afraid. Slightly desperate.

Wait, did I transmit those thoughts about me being fat? Adon thought. I didn’t intend to.

The spider was silent for a few long seconds, just staring at him blankly. Yes, she thought finally. Transmitted. I apologize for my words. No company. No sensitivity to feelings. Lovely caterpillar. Not fat. No need to diet. Plenty of caterpillars happy to mate with you. After you reach maturity.

Adon deactivated Telepathy for a moment so that he could keep his thoughts to himself. Apparently he had not quite mastered the art of controlling what he was transmitting and what he wasn’t when he used the Adaptation.

That could be embarrassing in the future if I don’t get a hold of it. Fortunately, I imagine I’m going to get a lot of practice! I think she might be even lonelier than me. He expected that he and Goldie would be talking quite a lot.

She was obviously desperate for him to stick around now that they’d spoken. Poor spider. He couldn’t imagine what spending months alone in this place with no one to talk to must have been like. The constant, brutal struggle of survival and no one to share it with. It had been stressful for him in just a couple of days. He couldn’t imagine what it was doing to her.

Well, at least she’s not rejecting me, he thought. Even if the reason for that is pretty tragic in its own right.

He reactivated Telepathy. Want to be friends? he asked immediately.

Of course! she replied eagerly. The subtext he read was, I haven’t spoken to anyone in months, you idiot! I would befriend a coconut at this point.

What is your name? he asked. I’ve been calling you ‘Goldie’ in my head, but I should probably use your real name.

A name. Name. There was a silence that lasted several seconds, during which Adon patiently waited without thinking much of anything. He was beginning to get used to the spider’s process. Long silences made sense. If he hadn’t spoken to anyone in months, he would probably be at a loss for words too.

No name, her voice broke in. Melancholic again. Never thought—never needed name. Caterpillar only one who could ask. Once, long ago…

Her posture collapsed as the spider seemed almost to crumble onto her web. It was a body language that communicated total defeat. Adon would have hugged her if she was within reach, but he wasn’t sure if that gesture would have been welcome, considering that they were two predators—and not members of particularly huggy species.

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Another long silence ensued, but this one was laden with emotion on both ends. Adon wanted to cry for Goldie. He thought he understood her pain. At least a bit of it. He’d been socially isolated, albeit for an entirely different reason, in his last life. But it was one thing to be scorned and scornful of society, and another to be entirely cut off from it. To have no family one could speak to, no society, no books, nor even simulated social contact through technology.

But even though he thought he knew some fraction of her suffering, he didn’t know what to say. In his previous life, he had never been a provider of comfort. Only a receiver of it, and that only on rare occasions. He didn’t know what his mother would say here, or he would just parrot that. She had always had a way of calming people down.

Call me Goldie, then, the spider finally said. Pretty name. She sounded a little happier. Good. They would work through this together. What is your name?

Adon used the joke he’d been quietly planning to spring at this moment. Well, maybe not quite a joke. More like a bad pun?

Madam, I’m Adon, he sent carefully.

He listened but didn’t hear any reaction from the spider for a few seconds, either in his head or in the physical world. Then he saw it as much as heard it. The spider shook slightly, her legs trembling. But it was her thoughts that really solidified the impression for him.

Ha. Ha. Ha. Goldie was laughing.

Adon laughed back a little, in his own mind. His earlier nervousness had been almost dispelled. They were both awkward. Both a little weird. This could work. Right?

I guess that isn’t the worst joke you’ve heard in your life? he sent.

The spider slowly stopped laughing and caught her breath.

Then she thought slowly, clearly choosing her words deliberately, Adon. That was the worst. Also best. Only joke I have heard since I was born.

Oh. Right. That question was insensitive of me, he sent.

No, is fine, she replied. Pretty sure that was terrible joke. Your luck that I suffer from inexperience. It benefits you. Tell your bad jokes. I will laugh every time.

They both chuckled inside their minds at that.

I guess you aren’t completely isolated, though, Adon sent. He had remembered the Kleptomaniac Dewdrop Spiders he wanted to bring up, and now seemed a good moment to segue into that topic.

Not completely. How did you know? she asked.

Well, I—wait, how did I know what?

He had thought they were talking about the spiders he’d seen when he walked up, but clearly not, if she was asking how he knew. And as he had that thought, a tiny shape moved on Goldie’s body.

What the hell?! Is something bursting out of y—oh, never mind.

He saw now. The shape wasn’t bursting out of her. It wasn’t covered in goo or anything like that. And it had eight legs. The shape was about one-third of her size, Adon assessed. So Goldie must have a growing child.

Meet my mate, she sent.

Ah. Um, it’s a pleasure! he replied. He still sent it to Goldie rather than to her partner. He didn’t want to work out whether it was possible for him to set up the equivalent of a three way call just now. He needed to check how much Mana he still had left sometime soon, in case they were about to get cut off. But for the moment, he just stared at Goldie’s mate.

Adon had forgotten how large size differences could be in some invertebrate pairings.

The male spider had climbed off of her back, and he now stood on the web beside her, looking down at Adon. Even though his face was non-expressive, Adon thought he detected suspicion. Perhaps even some mild hostility. But it was hard to worry too much about that.

He’s so small I could eat him, Adon couldn’t help but think. The spider was one-third of Goldie’s size, which meant he was an even smaller fraction of her weight.

Please do not, Goldie sent. I find him rather sweet. Not very emotionally expressive. We are spiders. But many spiders mate and move on. Look for next web—next female. Mine stayed. In his way, protecting me. Making sure I can give life.

I guess he’s a standup guy, then, Adon agreed. Deadbeat dads are a cross-species phenomenon, huh?

Goldie simply nodded.

I wasn’t really gonna eat hi—Wait, I thought your species eat the males after you mate. Or is that just a negative spider stereotype?

Goldie moved her front legs up and down in what Adon eventually recognized as a shrug. Do not know what other spiders do broadly. Have not seen others of my kind eat mates. There was a dryly amused tone to her voice that let Adon know he hadn’t offended her.

That reminded Adon of a topic that he wanted to broach with Goldie, but he decided to push that to later. He still had more questions about spider life.

Did you always know how to build a web like this? I used the Evolution Store to get a Silk Spinner of my own, but I kind of suck at using it.

No. Invested heavily in Adaptations. Nearly all Evolution Points spent for silk. A little on venom.

I see. Adon guessed this was not something he would ever be able to do himself, then. He was not going to invest “nearly all” of his Evolution Points in silk. It had been useful, but not that useful.

I can teach. Help you improve! Goldie suggested eagerly. Many silk options available with lower level Adaptation. Older spiders helped me learn.

That sounds wonderful, he thought back. I wish I could help you with something back. He thought about mentioning magic, but now that he realized he didn’t need to impress Goldie to win her over, he thought it would be stupid to brag about something he barely had a handle on. It was entirely possible that even while investing “nearly all” her Evolution Points in silk, Goldie had Mana Manipulation too. In which case she was certainly more experienced with it than him, and him talking as if he could teach her about magic would just make him look bad.

No need to help back, she thought. We are friends now. My first friend. Grew up in litter of spiders, but none like you. None could talk. Share a bond. The two of us.

About other spiders… Adon reminded himself of what he had wanted to bring up earlier. Are you aware that there are Kleptomaniac Dewdrop Spiders living in the corners of your web?

“Hsss!” Goldie made a noise that Adon could only interpret as a hiss. It was the first oral expression he had ever heard her make, and it took him so off guard that he took a couple of steps back.

Goldie?

Those things! Ugh. Yes, I know. Those scum! Thieves. Bleh! Kill them. Hate them. Want them dead. The spider slammed her legs down on the web as she formed the thoughts so that it shook almost from top to bottom. Her mate chose this moment to hop back off of the web and onto her back. Adon couldn’t blame him. If the spider hadn’t just been conversing so pleasantly with him, he would be afraid too. It had to be hard being a mate to someone you couldn’t really communicate with.

Goldie also thought a bunch of other partially formed words that Adon couldn’t quite understand but was pretty sure weren’t flattering terms of endearment. He waited for her to calm down a bit before interjecting.

Um, Goldie?

Oh. Yes. Adon. You asked about Dewdrop spiders. I do not like them.

I got that, yeah. Do you mind if I ask what’s wrong? I mean, if you don’t like them, can’t you chase them out? I figure you have very good reasons for feeling the way you do.

No. Outnumbered. Her tone was still emotionally fraught. Adon felt cornered on Goldie’s behalf. Steal our food. Sometimes, eat other spiders. But quick. Clever. Make me nervous. Dangerous.

Adon noted that Goldie’s grammar had been improving bit by bit as she became more comfortable with him. Now that she felt threatened—clearly specifically by the thought of these spiders—her grammar was deteriorating back to the level she’d started at. Adon didn’t verbalize the thought in his head, but he was aware in the back of his mind that if he kept interacting with her, she would gradually become a better and better conversationalist. Probably. Which was nice.

But there’s nothing you can do about them? he asked.

No, Goldie replied glumly. Fight together if you resist them.

Hm. Maybe there is something I can do to help you.