I finish bathing in the water, though I'm not sure you can call it bathing if I don't use soap, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant... or anything. I've learned so far that drider don't sweat. I would have by now when I've exerted myself, like when I was running around with the dead animal stuck to my leg. But I didn't, and I didn't when I hauled rocks into the cave. Maybe I don't need to bathe to begin with. But there is a... musk, I guess. A scent that smells like... okay I've had giant spiders as pets, and let them climb on my face. They have a smell. It's really subtle but it is there. So maybe a bath every once in awhile is a good idea.

Even if I did have soap or whatever, it wouldn't be a good idea to pollute this pretty lake, so I'd have to think of something else. But there's no reason to bother right now, and I don't really have any genuine plans for it either, but I could probably expand the cave and get the intake stream to widen and then siphon off the excess from the lake and have it be a permanent shower inside the cave itself if I really felt like it. I know how Victorian-style soap was made, but it made you smell worse since it wasn't perfumed. I really have no interest in all that. Well, not really. Okay, I do. But I don't wanna put in the effort.

I could always let myself air-dry, but I have a towel so I use it and fling it back on the bush. I should really find a better thing to do so it isn't in the elements all the time. That would easily make it wear out faster, and it's a nice towel. Same for my robe, but it has pockets, so I might as well put that back on, too. Eh, I just put everything on. If I see any intelligent life, it would probably be a good idea to be wearing clothes- not for the sake of modesty, since my female human chest doesn't have nipples- why would a spider need them? But because I should probably show that I'm not uncivilized. Not just some scary monster to attack on sight. They might still do it, though.

Since I don't have any weapons, I bring my hoe. I should really make something... an axe? A spear? I'll leave the hoe... No where is a good, or bad place. So I just shove it under a large bush near where I'm standing. Using the obsidian arrowhead, I carve some sticks I break with my hands into double-sided points, and find a useful tree branch with a heavy end. I make little notches at the top quarter of the wood, and stick the wooden spikes in there. I've got a club now. If I hit something with it, the spikes could do more damage- but without making the weapon get stuck. The spikes will just get lodged in whatever it is, and come out of the club. I should maybe make some replacement spikes just in case, but it could only really be restocked when not actively attacking, so there isn't much point now. Maybe I'll do it some other time, unless I get a better weapon, but this is acceptable for the time being.

My widow instincts kick in a little, as well as my human- and I realize I can actually just squeeze the gums above my fangs to get a little bit of venom out, so the spikes can be poisonous. I don't really wanna bite stuff in order to poison it. Lets the target get too close to me. I roll backwards and pull my back right leg up to where I can see it. It's healed, though I still see cracks in my armor. Apparently a drider's insect half is only shaped like an insect and has its abilities, but has a circulatory system and muscle and such, just like a mammal or reptile would. I don't know if I have an endoskeleton in addition or not, but I don't want to get injured enough to find out.

I go and check on the egg sac. It doesn't look any different at all. I wonder how long until they hatch? Well, it gives me time to prepare since it doesn't seem like the answer is 'in five minutes'. Something pokes me in the side when I move my left arm. It's a stick, stuck to my robe when I was rolling around. I fling it away and brush myself off again, and go out of the cave to the right this time. Those stupid scalewolves aren't something I wanna bother with again.

There are various bushes and flowers and trees I walk by, and various small noises of wild animals. Some close, some far, but nothing approaches. After awhile, I see a clearing. Well, enough of a clearing that it doesn't have grass or leaves, just dirt in between trees. In the middle of it is some stupid-looking creature that's really very ridiculous. It almost looks like a cross between a bear and an anteater, but it looks confused. In its confusion, it walks around in a circle, licking the ground with an enormously long tongue. But I can't tell the difference between its tail and tongue, except for the tongue periodically being recoiled into its mouth before it starts licking the ground again. The creature isn't really that big- only about four feet long. Eight if you count both the tongue and tail. I get confused watching it. It's like its tongue(s?) are just flopped on the ground. Maybe it ate the leaves and its tail is acidic and helps break down plant matter? I wonder if there are more of these things, but I don't see any, and the one I did see isn't making any noise except for its periodic 'slurp' sound and the sound of its dragging... limbs. I guess.

It's food. That's what matters. I slowly start walking up to it, rustling some bushes on accident, but without really caring that much. It's an experiment to see if it reacts. Super passive until it feels threatened then it gets dangerous! But it doesn't. I... the human in me says that I shouldn't attack it, but the spider in me says food. I look around for a big stick that looks sharp. It takes me awhile to find a long, thick, hard stick that could work as a spear, but while I took my time looking, I didn't realize how far I got away from the weird creature, and happened across something else.

It looks like a caterpillar, but it is far too big! It's oozing some sort of gunk from its mouth that seems to melt the bark on a nearby tree. Then it rubs its face in the melted bark and gunk. I guess it's eating? Most insects lack the ability to digest food, so they barf stomach acid onto their food so it breaks down into sludge which they can then eat easily. I guess that's what this thing is doing. But I like trees, and this one doesn't look too bad. It might go into shock if I wasn't here, though! So I stab the giant caterpillar, pinning it to the tree, but only badly enough to kabob it. It's heavy, but I can carry it. Hopefully it isn't too small for food for my babies. That ridiculous creature can... do whatever it was doing. I don't need to worry about the moral choices with it for now. It's probably a good idea if I don't let my prey's innards drip on me though, in case it's dangerous in some way.

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...

I'm lost. I look around for awhile more, trying to figure out where I'm even going, and I can't help but think about what my spiderlings might look like when they hatch. How big they'll be. How fast they'll grow. If they'll be smart? If they'll have souls...

"Aspects available." "Brood mother."

Those bothers me. I don't know how to make use of them. I guess I should experiment? "Show available eggs." Nope. "Aspects of children." Nope. Wait, didn't I also have 'caste designer'? It isn't like there's much of a reason not to talk out loud, in case there are intelligent creatures nearby sneaking around, so I'll just start saying stuff instead of thinking it. "Design caste." I hear a voice. It doesn't sound apathetically condescending like the other voice- this might be one I can talk to!

"Caste name?" The voice repeats.

Huh. I maybe should have thought this through more. What should the first one be called? With ants, there are scouts, warriors, workers, queens, and males. But I'd like my children to be more than that, in case I don't get to meet anyone else to talk to. I'd like to have some sort of conversations.

I made my decision. "Hunter."

"Caste name accepted" the voice tells me.

I wonder if I can just name all the ones I can think of using right now, so I get a little excited. "Architect."

"Caste design in progress. Additional caste slot not yet available."

Wait, a slot isn't even available? So I can only have one at a time? That sucks! Even bees have more than I do.

"Select base aspect." the voice says.

"Wolf spider." I happily reply.

"Select social affinity."

Huh. Okay, well that wasn't what I was expecting. "Human."

"Select base instincts."

Alright this is mostly a mental thing? I guess "wolf spider".

"Additional design parameters not yet acquired. Caste complete."

Okay, so, my children will be spiders, but will want to have social interactions with others, and will be less uncomfortable with hunting for food than I would be. I grew up way beyond the age where hunting was even necessary anymore, so I'm pretty far removed from that. As a neanderthal, peasant, prehistoric spider and black widow I wasn't, but it was a different time, or at least different circumstances, but at least food being food was how I was raised. You ate to live, not live to eat. Very different.

... the voice did say 'not yet available' so maybe I can do another? Let's see if it rewrites or adds.

"Design caste."

"Caste name?"

"Architect."

"Select base aspect."

"Black widow."

"Select social affinity."

"Human."

"Select base instincts."

"Black widow."

"Select class."

Wow. Okay. So, another option just came up. What's the difference between a caste and class? I thought they were the same thing. "Worker", I say, not knowing what else to do.

"Caste complete."

Okay, so, I wanna see if I can edit the first one. I should be able to, right? "Edit caste." Nothing. Okay... "Amend caste parameters." Um... "Add parameters to caste." Nope. Huh. I'm running out of things to try now. "Edit hunter caste." I only hear a ding. "Edit class."

"Select new class."

Woo! I found it. "Dexxer."

"Class not recognized. Input description."

Oh man. Now we're talkin'! That used to be a class in a game I played where you could change your stats and skills and abilities in whatever way you wanted. Dexxers were extremely difficult to play as, but if you could do it, no one could beat you because of their superior evasion, attack speed, and special ability spamming. One of their primary special attacks they liked was 'disarm', so even if you COULD fight them, you couldn't. They also liked to attack in groups. You have so much accuracy and speed and damage that you could land a hit on one and kill them in a single blow? Well, you kill one guy and then have no weapon oh and also you're stunned so you can't move while five guys appear out of no where and finish you off. They only need one other guy, but they kind of like overkill. Good class to give to a swarm of spiderlings.

"Dexxer is a mixed class of warrior and assassin. This makes them both able to easily exploit enemy weaknesses and unable to be struck in melee combat." I don't know what kind of counter this world would put on them so I thought I'd restrict it to close-quarters. Plus then my children wouldn't be able to be hurt when hunting.

...

After a little more aimless wandering, the sun started to set. The sky's pink glow was nice, and it made the fluffy white clouds (though not many of them, and it was hard to see through the trees) purple. But it meant that it would be dark pretty soon, so I should get back home. Luckily it only took me another twenty minutes to find the lake and get back. While I was walking down the corridor... the cave tunnel? I guess I can call it a corridor now. Main corridor, just in case I expand. While I was walking down the main corridor, little... okay, so, when I was human, at one point I had to steal food. There wasn't a choice. I learned as a thief that you have to train yourself to pay attention to your peripheral vision. Stare at one thing, but that isn't what you're looking at. Being a drider, my additional eyes really just expanded that ability. But as I was walking, little... windows, I guess- kind of like those old televisions that let you watch two channels at the same time by putting a miniaturized screen of the second channel in the bottom corner- worked. But there wasn't one. There were a few. About five or six on each side, like some online games have buttons or status info on each side of the screen going from top to bottom but nothing in the way of the middle.

It didn't take me long to realize what they were. They were my children. They were hatching! Not only that, but that goopy stuff had grown more and extended to the egg sac and had grown around it. I put the giant caterpillar on the ground where the spiderlings would see it. I could tell they could see it because I could see through their eyes!