A Spider Demon's Revenge
PART 4
"Michaelis, I realize that I'm in the wrong here, so I'm in no position to bargain, but don't you think walking would be the safer option?"
Claude forced himself to curl his body upwards, just barely dodging the tip of a large, jagged rock. The moment he freed the raven demon's wings, Sebastian had insisted on flying back to his nest; a cave set up high near Hell's ceiling where most demons that were able to fly chose to make their homes. While Claude understood that going there was no easy journey on foot, he felt it was safer and less strenuous than carrying him by the ankles and flying them all the way there like Sebastian was doing now.
On top of that, the raven demon hadn't spoken a word since they'd taken flight. While he knew that being forced into having sex didn't warrent a friendly conversion right after, Claude knew that the more they were able to communicate with each other, the the more he'd be able to understand the situation and, hopefully, the better he could handle what was to come. Even so, Sebastian still said nothing. He simply continued to fly, using his energy to carry them as the spider demon hung upside down trying to dodge the jagged tops of boulders and mountains.
Relief only came when Claude caught a glimpse of a massive shadow in the distance. Swarms of winged demons circled their massive nests. Some were carved into the corners where the ceiling and the canyon walls joined, others were build around dangling vines and tree roots out of various treasures and trophies each demon had collected over the centuries. Sebastian's stood out like a sore thumb. There were very few nests that had a pair of angel wings protruding from it, and it had to be the largest.
As they neared the nest, Claude's presence was already making itself known. It felt as though he was inches away from another raven demon that was hissing in his ear, or a bat demon trying to bite him, or some other demon laughing at him. At one point he heard Sebastian yell at one of them to shut the hell up, and they all fell silent. The perks of being royalty.
In one swift motion, Sebastian threw Claude head first into the opening of the cave. The twisted up twigs and branches tore at his skin as he landed, and he was sure he felt the sting of a metal edge cut deep into his arm. He looked and saw the slightest glint of gold. Looking closer, he realized it was a knife, one Claude was all too familiar with. It was a piece from the Trancy's cultlery set, likely one Sebastian had taken home with him after one of their many duels. The very end of it was sticking up and had likely cut into him when he slid in. He gently curled it downward into the nest, hoping to avoid a similar incident from happening again.
Claude sat up and watched as Sebastian landed, immediately concerned as he wrapped his arms around his abdomen and doubled over.
"I told you we should have walked," the spider demon said as he rushed to his side and rested a hand on his shoulder, "Is there anything I can do for--"
"Just shut up, and get away from me!" the raven demon hissed.
Claude obliged and leaped backwards several feet. He watched as Sebastian winced and strained before reaching behind him towards his nethers. He was silent for a second before he sighed.
"Damn it!" he cursed under his breath, bringing his hand back around.
"Were you trying to force them out?" Claude inquired, taking a cautious step forward.
"No," Sebastian retorted, "I thought I felt some coming out, but that wasn't the case. Anansi made sure of that."
Claude closed his eyes and shook his head. It'd only been a few hours since his ordeal, and the raven demon already looked like he was bracing himself to lay the eggs. The next two days were going to be rough.
"I think what's important now is that you rest," the spider demon said, "You're already pushing yourself harder than you should be."
Sebastian nodded and straightened himself. He strode over to a jumble of branches that had been fashioned into a man-sized bird's nest and curled up inside.
"Is there anything you want me to do in the meantime?" Claude inquired.
"Just make sure the nest doesn't fall apart, and try not to cause any more trouble," the raven demon demanded as he pulled his wings over him.
The spider demon nodded in acknowledgement as he exited the nest. His spidery limbs helped carry him over the spherical structure and he immediately noticed several weak spots where vines were about to snap or branches and trophies were about to fall off. Some parts looked as though they had been ripped off, likely stolen by other demons. He repaired what he could, spinning strong webs to ensure they would never be undone. The twigs and sticks would rot and turn to dust before his webs would give in.
It was when he was working on the sides of the nest that he looked down and noticed the pile of branches, twigs, vines, and various lost items from all of the nests on the ground. He jumped down, startling a bat demon that was rummaging around for it's own treasures. It's lips curled back in a snarl, exposing a set of jagged teeth almost too large for it's mouth before it flew off, leaving it's loot behind. Among them, Claude noticed an all-too-familiar pair of specticals, the specticals he wore back at the Trancy estate. They were undamaged despite having fallen from such a height, and he wondered what other treasures from him Sebastian had pocketed during his battles.
In total, Claude recovered his specticals, three more golden knives, a piece from a broken dinner plate, several bullets, and the front of a box of New Moon Drop tea, all from the Trancy estate. He recovered several pieces from the Phantomhive estate, as well, including a pocket watch, several silver forks and knives, a handful of chess pieces, a shredded tailcoat, a life-sized head of a doll that appeared to be made out of iron and steel, and one white butler's glove. Along with all the branches and vines he needed, Claude had all that he needed to restore the nest to its former glory, if not add more onto it.
Over the course of the day, the walls of the nest were reinforced and thickened. The spider demon even built his own little den in case Sebastian's temper flared and the two needed time apart, which would likely happen in the coming hours. When he had finished all he could think of to do on the nest, he sat inside with Sebastian as he slept, weaving his webbing to pass the time. He'd occasionally glance over at the raven demon whenever he'd shift positions or writhe uncomfortably in his sleep. He still felt guilty about what had happened, and more. At this point, he'd have given anything to go back in time and agree to be host to Anansi's eggs, because in two days he was going to be faced with two facts: he didn't know where the nesting grounds were, and of all the things he knew how to weave, an egg sac wasn't one of them.
Claude's attention veered over to Sebastian as the raven demon stirred from his sleep and sat up.
"What are you doing?" he asked groggily.
The spider demon lifted a bundle of woven webbing up from his lap, "Keeping myself busy... Michaelis, I need to tell you something."
"Okay?"
"I lied."
"What?"
"I can look after you and make sure you're rested, sure, but I don't know where the nesting grounds are."
"What!"
"And, don't panic or anything, but I don't know how to weave a sac to keep the eggs safe in."
"What?!"
Before Sebastian could react, he yelped in pain and doubled over once more. A hand clamped over his mouth as the other wrapped around his torso. His face turned a sicky grey and his body convulsed as if he was trying to vomit. It wasn't unheard of for eggs to be forced into the stomach and be vomited out in rejection. In Sebastian's case, it wouldn't have been surprising.
Claude hurried to the raven demon's side.
"If you need to vomit, then vomit," he said calmly, "It'd probably be for the best if you do."
Sebastian nodded, dropping has hand and leaning over as he let out a gag. Several more followed, but all the raven could muster were dry heaves. They eventually passed, leaving him crumpled in his nest clutching his growing stomach once more.
Claude sighed in disappointment. It would have been good for Sebastian to vomit up a couple dozen eggs. Even when they weren't fully developed, they were still as stubborn as Anansi.
"What now, genius?" Sebastian gasped out as the pain subsided, "Tell that to Shelob, and she'll most definitely kill you. And 482 eggs will definitely make a mess without an egg sac."
"I'll figure out something," Claude replied, "Don't worry about it."
"You best figure out something in less than two days, or your offspring are as good as dead."
It was then that the question dawned on the spider demon, a question he hadn't even bothered to ask himself. Why did he care? Being that most of them were eggs from a woman he didn't love, inside of a demon that had been his enemy, reluctantly fertilized by his own seed; why did he care what happened to them? Why did he care about where they were laid, or how they would be protected? Because some of them belonged to a spider she-demon that would kill him the moment he came back? That threat never carried weight in the past.
So why?
