"Ugh… Never again." Kinu gasps as she straightens up. She bends over again as it feels that her last meal wishes to rejoin the world. Once her stomach settles she carefully straightens up again and looks around. Standing ten feet away from her is Mikka. The woman was currently smirking. As for the surroundings the duo were standing in the middle of what appeared to be a pathway made of packed dirt. A pile of smooth cut stones sat to one side of the pathway. It dawned on Kinu that these stones were likely meant as paving or stepping stones. The other side of the path had a very thick patch of reeds growing along it. The reeds were being blown lightly in the wind.
"Teleporting spells are never fun the first time around. I've seen several Liminals suffer far worse from being teleported so you did well for a human." Mikka says as pulls a bottle out of a grey bag hanging from her shoulder. Kinu couldn't remember if the woman had the bag before what had apparently been a spell was activated. Mikka shakes a small tablet out of the bottle and hands the tablet to Kinu. The tablet was simply an antacid tablet used to help upset stomachs. Kinu swallows it without any trouble.
"Magic is an oddity for me. I knew some Liminals could use it but it never dawned on me that humans could." Kinu says as she looks up at the sky. A few wisp like clouds float through an otherwise clear blue sky. She pauses upon hearing Mikka click her tongue.
"Little one, you can come out." Mikka says as she looks towards the reeds. For a moment there is no response. Then a patch of reeds moves to reveal what appears to be more reeds. It's only until the second patch of reeds moves out into the path that Kinu realizes what she's looking at.
The creature standing before the two stands at a height that only appears to be three feet tall. The brownish blond hair frames a face adorned with six golden eyes. The creature's hair is spiked up to resemble cat ears. The eyes have no visible white or pupil within them. Moving on this creature appeared to be a humanoid girl wearing a short crop tank top that was patterned after tiger stripes. Strapped across the girls back was a cylinder shaped object that Kinu assumed was a quiver. When the creature moves closer it is more obvious that the cylinder was actually holding multiple bundles of the reeds the girl had been in. Adorning the girls hands were what appeared to be clawed gauntlets. These gauntlets had a color matching unpolished gold although multiple black lines swept through the gold. Moving further down the girl wore what appeared to be a tribal skirt on her hips. The skirt was colored the same way as the tank top. Where the girl's legs would be was what could only be described as a second body. A body shaped after a spider. This spider half was the same unpolished gold as the gauntlets the girl appeared to wear. Black stripes ran through the gold as well.
"Human! There's a human with Miss Chiso!" The creature says with a burst of energy. It is very clear that the creature was a Small Breed Arachne. The Arachne darted closer with a burst of speed that startled Kinu. Kinu managed to keep her footing but was now being circled by the energetic girl.
"She's here for the exchange program. Can you direct us to the town?" Mikka asks as she pets the Arachne on the head. The Arachne pivots to look at Mikka. Kinu snickers at this tank like motion.
"Okay. I'm Tigerswallow by the way." The Arachne says in a much more subdued tone. Tigerswallow promptly begins walking along the dirt pathway. Mikka motions for Kinu to follow. Kinu notes that the dirt path quickly gives way to a stone path. This new path type has the added effect of causing Tigerswallow's foot steps to click off the path.
"What type of Liminals live here?" Kinu asks as she loosens her hoodie. It was quickly becoming apparent to her that the native temperature was several degrees higher then what her outfit was meant for. In truth it would seem any regular outfit she would wear would be too warm in this environment.
"Mainly Arachne and Harpy cities although a few of the larger lakes are home to fresh water Merfolk. A few Were Beast types make homes here as well although those are villages. I also believe that a Dragon or two makes their home here. I haven't met them in person though." Mikka says as she looks over her rings. She looks up upon seeing the city off in the distant. Kinu pauses as she looks at the sprawling area. It appears to be more a large collection of tents surrounded by fields.
"Tents? You said this was a town. It looks more like what I would imagine a nomad camp would look like. Although the size is believable." Kinu says as she watches Mikka walk. Tigerswallow bounces lightly at the statement.
"All Arachne can spin spider silk to some extent which means it is by far our most common resource. This along with most of our kinds large size means that tents are the best building type for us. Not to mention not even the strongest of winds will budge our tents once they are anchored." Tigerswallow says as she turns to look at Kinu. Amusingly enough she keeps walking towards the town which leads to the oddity of an Arachne walking backwards. Tigerswallow pauses upon seeing what Kinu is wearing.
"Is there something wrong?" Kinu asks as she stares back at the girl. Tigerswallow hops lightly during which she reorients herself to be facing forward.
"Your outfit is far too heavy to wear here. When we get to the town I'll have to take you to a Weaver. She'll be able to get you a proper outfit." Tigerswallow says as she looks over her clawed hand. Kinu cringes at how mischief the statement sounded.
Author Corner
By far one of the funniest parts of being a writer is designing worlds. In this case it was both the Arachne town and a few new Arachne. For the most part new Arachne types are somewhat scarce. I plan on the end of a chapter that introduces a new one in person to have a small amount of information at the end about the type. Nothing new for now though, as Tigerswallow is the adorable Small Breed type.
I have fixed a sentence that was not fully written out.