Disclaimer: I do not own the characters involved in Don't Starve. All characters and materials perceived in this story belong to Klei Entertainment.
Chapter 8: Silk and Petals
The cool breeze lightly brushed against the woods. The small grass danced in waves along the winds chilly melody. Amidst the green frolic was a bee embracing the sweet nuzzle of a flower no bigger than the bee itself. The bee, tremendously bigger than an average size, took comfort in the presence of the tranquil flora.
A sudden net swayed its way towards the bee, ensnaring the creature. This hostile attack instigated the nearby bee nest to swarm with agroed killer bees.
Webber was quick to flee the area, adding space between him and the swarm behind him. Once the bees were away from their nest, spiders appeared from the bushes and made their way towards the bee nest. In a fit of panic, the killer bees retreated to defend their home.
One of the bees were struck from behind, damaging its wing. The attack was made by Webber, who had thrown a boomerang. The spider boy continued his harassment as the bees ignored him and focused on defending their nest. But by the time the bees had made it back, the spiders succeeded in destroying the nest due to their large numbers. Enraged, the bees recklessly split off in various directions to fight against the combatants. Webber and his spiders were able to battle against the bees with ease since they lacked coordination. The battle didn't even last a few minutes.
"Is everyone alright," Webber stated slightly out of breath. After a quick look around, and a handful of screeches from his spiders, he confirmed everyone was okay. Webber then made his way towards the bee nest, or what was left of it. Amongst the subtle debris, which was a thick mass of plastered honey, was a think honey comb.
Webber looked long and hard at the honey comb, a slight sense of doubt going through his head. After a few seconds of intense glaring, he finally spotted it. In dispersion through the comb was a queen bee significantly smaller than any of its children.
"This is the queen bee," Webber said with shock. "We thought it'd be bigger than this," he said while giving it a glimpse from all sides. While he was mesmerized by the honey comb, Fobia nudged the spider boy to get his attention. The spider screeched and stared at his hand, the other spiders interlaced their eyes towards him as well. Some stared at his throbbing hand while others were fixated on his grisly torso.
Webber knelt down near the desiccated honey by his feet and reached into his backpack. Inside his backpack, he pulled out some paper he fabricated out of reeds. He then spread some of the dehydrated honey onto the paper to from a bandage with some form of gauze.
Webber was preparing to cover a wound on the side of his chest. The side of his ribcage had a very noticeable laceration that swelled up with purple puss. The gash would sometimes leave Webber with massive trauma and pain, other times it was just a minor annoyance.
Carefully, Webber used his good hand to wrap the adhesive around his chest and shoulder. He managed to skillfully engulf the entire wound, the honey quickly reacting to the infectious laceration. Webber felt a grand, burning sensation pulse throughout his chest, catching him off guard. He cried out in pain, gently clutching his gash as the sensation intensified. Muffet ran circles in hysteria as the other spiders frantically panicked.
"Hey, we're alright!" Webber voiced, muffling through the pain. His spiders calmed down a bit, but their doubt remained. Webber was breathing heavily, trying his best to show a friendly face through his rapid, raspy breaths.
After a few minutes, the pain died down. Webber caught his breath before speaking again, "See, nothing to worry about." He laughed a bit. His spiders still had the same worried expression on their face. Webber then proceeded to make another honey poultice for his swollen right hand.
Wrapping his right hand was a bit easier than his wound. He used his mouth and other hand to skillfully wrap it around in a nice bundle. No immense pain seemed to follow up his damaged hand, putting his spiders at ease.
"There," Webber said with a slight grin. "These bandages should do for now, we'll wrap new ones once we get some fresh honey." Webber packed the honeycomb and bug net into his backpack before signaling to departure.
Their campsite wasn't too far off, just a short walk away. During walks, Webber would often let his mind wonder off. Sometimes he would be thinking ahead, figuring out what should be accomplished for the day. Occasionally, he would even fantasize about the divining rod he had found a while back.
That contraction was something short of an enigma, completely confounding even the alchemy engine with its extensive knowledge. In reality, it was just a radio on a stick. Transmitting a loud, static noise ever so often. Though, Webber couldn't help but feel it was important somehow.
Webber felt a slight tinge of pain which caused him to flinch. He hurriedly fought through the pain to alleviate any concern from his spiders. They didn't notice, he sighed in relief. The wound has been bothering Webber for a while now. It started small, but it looks like the wound got infected due to improper care.
A frown started to form onto Webber's face. He received the wound when he was battling the pigs. Just two days had passed since that event, Webber doesn't like thinking too much about it.
They arrived to their base, Webber started to sort out his items. He then went to this wooden box he had constructed, taking the honey comb and bug net with him. The wooden box was established to home the honey bees that Webber had collected through the past days. With a queen bee, the box should hold a thriving bee colony that will be able to produce loads of honey.
The honey will be a great advantage into producing more honey poultice along with recipes involving honey. But even after fulfilling the days requirements, the day was still young. It was barely the middle of the afternoon, and yet Webber was feeling quite exhausted.
Webber took it upon himself to lay down near the campfire, where he can observe his spiders frolic around the campsite. He caught a glimpse of Raven and Calamity by the spider nest. They seemed a bit defensive, taking the liberty to consistently scan the area. It made sense, the egg nest was barely recovering from the damage it had received. Small patches of yellow web filled the gaping holes that punctured the nest. Little by little, the nest appeared to be recovering itself. This didn't stop the spiders from constantly guarding it, even succumbing to taking turns.
Sometimes, they were hesitant to leave their campsite for too long. Webber reasoned with them of course. Whenever he would need to travel far, three spiders would be left behind to defend. Though, this only happened once since they didn't want Webber wandering out in his current condition.
Therefore, Webber was stuck by the campsite most of the time. Maintaining the farm, checking materials, tinkering with the alchemy engine. Webber didn't mind too much though, they still had a considerable amount of meat to last them a couple more days.
Besides, he did need his rest. Only time could heal his wounds, that and some honey. Webber laid his head back, gracefully glaring into the sky. His eyelids blinked ever so slowly, basking in fresh, cool air. His body gave in to gravity as he relaxed his muscles, and drifted soundly asleep.
...
Thundering steps could be heard as the ground shook. A loud roar echoed through the woods. Trees crashed down in pairs as a enormous beast brushed them aside with profound strength. Nearby animals fled away from the opposing force.
Some distance away stood a campsite, inhabited by a little girl. Upon hearing the atrocious roar, she juggled her way to gather her things. Beside her stood a floating entity, vivid in brightness but lacking a physical body. The girl was quick to pack certain essentials onto a bag, then equipped a football helmet and held a divining rod.
The sound of the beast was much more rambunctious, instilling a sense of dread onto the little girl. Despite the girl's small stature, she held a calm expression. She knew what was coming.
A Giant.
Massive creatures that defiled nature in every way. Each had its very own form of malice that dominated the season only bringing along hardship. The girl has faced quite a few in her past, but this was the first time facing the king of fall. The last giant nearly scorched her alive, she would have to be extremely cautious. She wasn't much of a fighter, therefore the first sign of trouble and she would flee.
The ground stopped shaking for a moment, the beast could be heard a little ways from her camp. It seemed to be combating something, southeast from her camp.
The girl moved slowly towards the contentious battle. The floating entity following close beside her. It appeared that the giant had passed through the pig village as several pigs came out of their homes to fight the intense creature.
The giant was encased in thick black and white fur. Its paws were the size of her head and supported keen, jagged claws. It walked on its two feet which sustained a massive torso. Its face was the most distinguishable, resembling that of a bagger with black stripes and sharp teeth. The beast was enraged.
Several pigs continued to pound and kite the giant as it struggled to take down a single foe. For a moment, the girl thought that they could defeat the beast. That she didn't have to leave this world after all. She hoped, if only for a second.
The giant raised its massive paws upward with a ferocious demeanor. It then slammed them to the ground below it with an incredible force. Smashing the ground beneath it and stumbling any pigs near the beast.
Before the little girl could do so much as think of joining the fray. The giant snagged one of the pigs with its paws. Raised it towards its jaw, and tore through half its body. Blood gushed out in waves from the dismembered pig, staining the fur of the giant a crimson color. The beast eat the pig voraciously, tearing through flesh and bones. Its comrades watched in horror as the giant continued to horrendously devour their friend. The pigs staggered back as they struggled to recompose their fighting spirits.
"They're going to die soon." The girl then stood herself up. "Come on Abigail, we don't have much time."
...
Webber awoke from a bad dream. His rapid breaths drew attention from Faven who was huddled close by. The spider cuddled close to the boy, trying to comfort the spider boy as best as it could. Webber eased a bit, his body a bit sore from the wound. He petted Faven on the head, gently stoking the worrisome spider.
"Sorry to scare you," he said continuing to pat the arachnid, "just a bad dream." For a moment, Webber tried to remember what his dream was about. Only to be met with a blurry annoyance of what seemed like a nightmare.
Webber looked around, it was the evening. Probably going to be dark in a couple hours. The bandage around him already seemed to be losing its value, the honey barely having any saturation.
"Hey, we're gonna check the bee box." Webber said getting up. Faven screeched in affirmation and picked itself up to follow alongside the boy.
After examining the bee box, it appeared the bees were able to produce a small amount of honey. Webber then retrieved the honey, careful not to instigate the bees nesting inside. Using some more paper, he concocted another honey poultice. Hoping that the fresh honey would do a better job at treating his wounds.
As Webber unwrapped the bandage located on his ribcage, Muffet and Calamity treaded towards him. The spiders eyed him curiously as his gash was exposed to the open air. There was still a gaping hole in Webber's body, but it was less infected and swollen.
"See guys, we'll be fine." He said with high spirits. "This stuff acts pretty fast." Webber then proceeded to wrap the new adhesive onto his torso. The fresh honey slowly easing the pain around his wound, a completely different feeling from the first time. The spiders cood next to the boy in spite of his better condition.
"Hey, haha. Stop, guys." He said while giggling. The spiders continued to gently huddle against Webber as he squeamishly pushed them away. "Alright, alright. It's good to see you guys are happy, today feels like a good day." He said while walking towards the chest. "How 'bout we cook some food, we think we deserve something filling." The spiders sprang with joy upon the mention of food, even Fobia and Raven wanted to join in on the fun. Though, they stood their positions by the spider nest with eager expressions.
"Sounds good, we'll get some food cooking right away." Webber said with a grin. Soon the air was filled with the savory aroma of meat boiling with a fresh side of veggies. "Today is turning out to be a pretty good day."
...
"We have to move faster." In the midst of the forest, a little girl was running away from a massive beast. The giant had finished the pigs with ease, and is now giving chase to the little girl and her companion. The girl had stocked up on anything she deemed necessary, but the beast was quick to find her campsite. It immediately gave chase to her, carelessly ramming into all of the structures by her campsite.
The girl was in a frantic hurry to get to her destination. Her mysterious ally quickly going through obstructions to match the girl's speed. She was fairly close by, but the giant wouldn't let up. The tremendous beast knocked down anything in its path, leveling the path in front of it. Every second the beast staggered behind belittled the mentality of the little girl. The beast released a rancid aura that influenced feelings of anguish. The sun setting on the other side of the horizon only increased the intensity of the situation. One wrong move, and she would be dead.
The sound of the divining rod increased exponentially. To the point it was deafening to the eardrum. She could see the mechanism just ahead, a portal to a new world. Found and preset by her just in case of emergencies. This gave a feeling the girl wasn't used to, hope.
The ground quaked beneath her, the harsh movement caused her to fall face first onto the floor. Dropping the divining rod just a few feet away from her, and receiving a few scratches along her body. The giant had smashed the ground to halt her escape.
Seeing its opportunity, the giant charged full head towards the little girl. In response, the girl picked herself up wielding an ax from her bag. Her eyes fixated on the beast with a deadpan stare. In a flutter of a second, a quick flash of light beamed through the giant. The giant's fur was singed a bit on its torso, causing it to turn to its assailant. The bright being appeared to have damaged the frightful beast.
"Abigail, don't." Cried the little girl.
The beast charged at the strange being, and swiped its massive paws against the inanimate obscurity. It flinched upon impact, signifying that it took damage.
As the two battled, the girl reached in her bag hoping to find anything useful. The spirited being dodged blow after blow before being struck a second time. The ghostly figure seemed gravely injured as its movements slowed down. The beast was quick to maintain its fighting advantage as it lashed out another hit. The being's figure dissipated, only a wilted flower emerged from the onslaught.
The girl's opportunity was now, she could easily make her way towards the contraction while the beast was dumbfounded. Instead, she dropped her bag and held an ax firmly in her hand.
"Abigail, I'm not done playing with you yet." She said solemnly.
Slowly, she made her way towards the giant. Her ax slowly grazing the small blades of grass as they waved against the cool wind. The giant refocused its attention, and ominously treaded in her direction. Each step shook the earth and vibrated the surrounding fauna with tremendous power.
The girl soon stopped her movements as the beast was a few yards away from her. The giant staggered closer and the girl felt the sheer influence of its negative emotions. The girl didn't falter.
Quickly, she dashed through the giant's legs. She could feel the beast's movements from the ground's violent shaking. She didn't care, she sprinted towards the wilted flower. Once she retrieved the flora, she turned around expecting an upcoming attack from the vile creature.
Except the monster ignored the girl completely. Instead, the beast charged towards her backpack and violently tossed away its contents desperately searching for something. Finally, it pulled out some raw meat that the girl safely stuffed inside for safe keeping. The giant hungrily snacked on its contents and carelessly tossed the bag away. It then let out a heavy yawn before facing the girl once more. The beast then got on all fours and made its way out of the forest.
The girl was a bit shocked for a moment, trying to process what just happened. "The thing just wanted my food." She said slightly agitated.
Calming her nerves down, she decided to sit down for a bit. The beast could be heard quite a ways, possible chasing its next meal.
"Well, this world's a bust." Getting back on her feet, she made her way to her bag. It was torn to shreds and all of its contents were scattered aimlessly. The sun then began to slowly drop by the horizon, nightfall was beginning. Scavenging a torch from the debris, she lit it up to and made her way towards the portal mechanism. Along the way, she picked up very few commodities along with the divining rod that continuously resonated.
The girl flashed her torch towards the strange device. A mechanical gizmo shape shifted to a obnoxious floating head. For a short time, she inspected the items she had with her. She was wearing a puffy vest and a football helmet. She sported an ax in one of her hands and the divining rod on the other. Her pockets were filled with a couple carrots and Abigail's flower. That's it.
She couldn't carry anymore considering her backpack was ripped to pieces. With barely any hesitation, she latched the rod onto the opening hole near the ground. This made the mechanical head avert its eyes and speak.
Do you wish to travel onto a new world?
The girl pondered for a moment, it was nightfall. And leaving at this time of season could be extremely difficult to pull off. A deafening roar was sounded in the distance. The girl turned to the mechanical head and answered, "Yes."
Upon receiving the answer, long arms in the presence of shadows swooped up from the floor. They wrapped around the girl and pulled her into nothingness. The mechanical head let out dysfunctional waves of laughter.
Author's Note: This chapter is extremely late. I'm terrible sorry that I haven't been updating at all, life could be incredible interesting. I plan to update a lot this summer, but I do have anime expo in just a few days.
I'd like to credit Lisa Lumos who I commissioned to draw the picture displayed. You could find her on tumblr at thatonegirludontknow. At least I'd like to say that but it doesn't look like she's on tumblr anymore. Either way, she is an amazing artist and I respect her a great deal. Hope she fares well.
Continuing on to the plot line, I was always planning on putting Wendy in the story. So that much hasn't changed, story will focus on them but mainly Webber. Though, the new reign cinematic has altered my plot line heavily. If you haven't already, check out the Don't Starve together video. I won't spoil. Till then, if anyone is still reading this then thank you for being supportive. Have a great day!
