It all started when a spider dropped a skull one morning.

A skull.

Of all things it could have dropped, it dropped a skull.

And not a human skull. Oh no! Well, it looked human enough, but it also hairy and had spider legs coming out from beneath it. Yuck. Still, for some reason, Willow pocketed the skull along with all the spider glands and made her way back to camp.

Wilson was in his little science section of the camp when Willow returned, tinkering away at the alchemy machine. She could see he was deeply concentrated on the device, and (by whatever force that worked in this strange place and possibly for her own twisted amusement) for some reason she placed the skull on top his strange hair, tying it down with the black wild curls to keep it in place, and walking away with a smirk.

Somewhere close to lunchtime, Wilson let out the girliest scream she had ever heard.

(She almost snorted up the food she was eating from laughing so hard.)

"WILLOW! WHAT DID YOU DO?! WHAT DID YOU PUT IN MY HAIR THIS TIME?!" Willow cast a smirk over her shoulder, smiling at the panicking scientist.

"What? You don't like the effort that I put into making you look better?"

"PUTTING SOMETHING IN SOMEONE'S HAIR WITH WHATEVER GRIZZLY THING YOU PUT IN IT DOES NOT MAKE ANYONE LOOK BETTER! ESPECIALLY MINE!"

"I don't know. I think it suits you." Willow (deciding to be merciful to him) walked over and untied the skull from Wilson's hair and showed it to him.

Wilson, who had be moments away with freaking out, stopped short in whatever he was going to say and stared at the skull Willow held in her hands. "… What… in the name of science… is that?"

"A skull." Willow plopped it into his hands. "A spider dropped it when I killed it." And with that she turned on her heel and left poor Wilson with the spider skull.

)*(

Wilson was a curious guy.

That Willow knew all too well.

The guy just tended to study whatever new thing that crossed his path and forget about the world (and chores) around him.

Now, Willow was an understanding person (most of the time) and she was very patient (sometimes) in waiting for Wilson to be done with whatever had caught his attention. After all, she could barely understand what the crazy man was doing half of the time when he was focused on something.

Although, she never knew that the guy could be sentimental over a skull and be so depressed over it.

Until he pointed out that the skull was the size of a kid.

(That was going to give her nightmares. And proved how much of a jerk Maxwell can be.)

Willow really had no words to say once Wilson went over all the aspects and skull development to confirm that it was a kid's skull. She… well she felt bad, but at the same time she really didn't know how to feel about this. Sure, it was a skull of a small child but… she didn't really know the kid. And she saw skeletons laying around the place nearly every day (thanks a lot Wilson), so she… didn't really know how to feel.

"Wow. Just… wow." Willow shook her head, putting away the kabob (suddenly not feeling very hungry anymore) and hugged Bernie close to herself. "Are you uh… are you sure that's a kid's skull? It could be a spider skull."

Wilson shook his head. "No. The structure of the skull is clearly human."

"Then how do you explain the legs?"

Wilson was silent a moment before sighing and shaking his head and headed towards their supplies.

"Whoa, whoa wait! Where are you going?"

"To bury this skull." Wilson pulled out a shovel from one of the chests. "I… it's just… it feels wrong studying it further when I know it's a…" He exhaled deeply, visibly distraught and shaken. "I'll… I'll be back later."

"You want me to tag along?" Willow stood up, ready to follow Wilson. But he simply shook his head.

"No, no. I think I'll be fine. It'll be a quick short trip to the graves and back. Nothing to bother yourself with Willow." Wilson smiled at her, (a sad, sad smile) and waved goodbye.

Willow gave a little wave, hugging Bernie closer to herself. She knew she could trust Wilson to be alright on his own (even with the Meat Effigy up as a precaution), but she still felt uneasy whenever he went out on his own.

(She still had nightmares about the Hound incident playing in her mind at night)

But she had to remind herself that Wilson was a prime expert in surviving on his own. (Sometimes.) She knew she shouldn't worry over him all the time. She knew he was capable of taking care of himself (slightly). He had been more careful since the 'incident' and managed to avoid death and close calls. (Not as much as she would like, but at least she knew he was being more careful now.) She could trust him not to get into any trouble without her…

Until lighting flashed across the sky along with a loud thundering BOOM that made her jump.

Somehow she figured it was Wilson's fault since there wasn't even a cloud in the bright afternoon sky.

And was confirmed when he came back later just as she was about to go looking for him… with a very large creature on his back.

)*(

"Willow! Willow put down that spear! Put-Put it down! Th-there's no need to get so hostile!"

"NO NEED TO GET—?! WILSON PERCIVAL HIGGSBURY DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT'S ON YOUR BACK RIGHT NOW?!" Willow pointed at the said thing with her spear. The same thing that was being shielded by Wilson who refused to let her come near with a weapon pointed at the creature in hand.

Wilson cringed (due to her using his full name or the spear being very close to his face, she didn't know nor care) and backed away further from her advances. "Look! You don't understand! I know this looks…" He cast a glance at the thing. "… Questionable. But I assure you that I have very good reasons for this!"

"Oh You BETTER Have A Good Reason To Bring Back A Large SPIDER!" She pointed an accusing finger at the spider.

Said spider was large. Very large. Larger than all the normal spiders she's seen so far, but it still was a spider. And spiders needed to be crushed.

Wilson glanced at the spider, frowning deeply. "Wellll… it… may not actually be a spider."

"Wilson. It's hairy, black, eight legs and eyes so I'm pretty SURE THAT'S A SPIDER!"

"NO! No! Listen to me!" Wilson was pressing against a tree now, the spider pinned between him and nature. (Willow wanted so badly to yank Wilson away and set the tree ablaze along with the creature he had brought back.) "Okay, YES. They do have some… 'aspects' of a spider." (She gave him the 'Really?' look.) "But I don't think it's just a spider!"

"Yeah. It's A MONSTER!"

"No! Willow! I think… I think…" He glanced at the spider, pity forming in his eyes. "… I think… I think this may be a child."

"…What?"

)*(

Wilson really had no idea what happened.

… Okay, so he may have a tiny bit of an idea of what happened.

The details were a bit vague, but what he did know was that as soon as he found a suitable grave and buried the skull, lightNing suddenly struck the grave just as he finished patting down the last bit of dirt, almost giving Wilson a heart attack right there and then.

Instantly his mind concluded that it was Maxwell's fault (as it always has been for a while now), until the dirt of the grave started moving. Instinctively Wilson jumped back and pulled out his spear, pointing it at the ground and readied himself for an attack.

His grip on the spear tightened when a black hairy limb emerged from the ground, clawing at the dirt flailing about. Wilson almost threw the spear at the limb right then and there.

Until he heard someone whispering for help.

"… h… hel… lp… help…"

Now, Wilson knew this place was full of dangerous things. Plenty of dangers that he had observed (and died from) in the past to know to be cautious of anything new (despite his curiosity getting the better of him many times) could be a possible threat. He knew he wasn't just going to help something that could possibly kill him in the end. He wouldn't!

"… mo… mommy…"

But this was just a onetime thing.

Tossing the spear aside and getting on his knees, Wilson dug away at the earth with his hands (since he accidentally tossed his shovel away when he was given a fright earlier thanks to the sudden lightning) as fast as he could. He didn't have to dig very far in before the rest of the limb's owner emerged from the loosen soil gasping for air and hacking up dirt from their mouth.

When Wilson saw what he had dug up, his first thought was SPIDER! and jumped back in alarm before he noticed more of the spider's body.

Mostly how humanoid it looked.

Wilson stared in shock as the spider pulled themselves out of the ground more once they could breathe, pulling themselves weakly out of the grave. Of all the spiders Wilson had seen, this one was certainly by far the strangest. It looked enough like a spider, but its body was also that of a human, albeit still hairy and black like a spider.

"Fascinating." Wilson whispered, getting closer to the spider and looking it over. "Aren't you just an interesting specimen?" He poked it gently, still uneasy and wary in case it jumped and attacked him. "Are you some sort of evolved species of spider or—"

The spider shivered, letting out a rough dry cough.

And then it spoke.

"… w… wh-where am i…?"

Wilson stared in shock. A humanoid spider. That had the capability to speak?! This was by far the most interesting thing he had encountered so far!

"Y-Y-YOU CAN TALK?! Y-You can! That's bloody BRILLIANT! That's! This is incredible! A different species that can speak human langue! Aside for the pigmen, but still incredible! Wait, are you friendly? Hostile? Neutral? How many fingers am I holding up? Can you see all the colors or just a set amount? Can you see? How old are you? When did you learn the capability to speak? Are there more of you? What does your species call themselves? How did you get in that grave? Why where in that grave? Are you related to the ground spiders by chance? My name is Wilson P. Higgsbury by the way what's yours? Do you have a name? How—"

The spider let out a round of dry coughs, cutting off Wilson's spiel. It rose shakily on two arms (or at least what Wilson could assume were arms) and groaned, holding their midsection as their face twisted in pain.

Before Wilson could say anything, the spider made an odd noise. A noise Wilson recognized immediately and backed away as the spider convulsed and retched whatever was in their stomach onto the ground. He winced, disgusted at the sight as the spider dry-heaved and vomited again.

When the spider was done, it went still for a moment. Then its shoulders started shaking and Wilson heard the sound of… crying?

Yes. The spider was defiantly crying. Which was… surprising.

Wilson wasn't sure if spiders had the capacity to cry, but here was one right before him crying like a small… child…

He looked at the grave, then back at the spider. It was slowly starting to click in his head.

"H-Hey." He scooted closer to the spider, reaching out a shaky hand, touching the spider's arm. The spider jumped from the contact, suddenly realizing that Wilson was there and backed away with clear fear on its face.

"S-Stay away!" It croaked. The voice sounded rough and scratchy, but undeniably young.

"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." Wilson held up his hands, staying right where he was so not to spook the spider child (good science this was a spider child) and kept himself calm. There was no reason to scare the kid as he (was the child a he? They're voice sounded like a male but it was kind of hard to tell…) was now. "I just want some answers. Do you think you can do that for me?"

The spider child rubbed the pair of bigger eyes, looking around with confusion. "W-Where am I?"

"Currently, we're in a forest." Wilson answered, keeping his voice steady. "I don't know where exactly we are. I've been trying to figure that out myself."

The spider looked at him, sniffing. "… Do… do you… know where my mommy is?"

Wilson cringed. "… No. No I do not. I'm not sure where your mother is."

"Wh-what about my daddy?" The spider child looked at him pleadingly. "Do you know wh—" A round of harsh coughs cut off his sentence, and his arms gave out.

Wilson, with quick reflexes, shot forward and caught the child before he hit the ground (and the vomit) and felt his forehead (minding the small eyes that blinked weakly at him). A hum of concern emanated in Wilson's throat, not liking the warmth the spider child was giving off. "You're sick."

"M not." The spider child weakly replied. But Wilson wasn't convinced in the slightest when they coughed again.

"No, you're clearly sick." Wilson helped the spider child to his feet, keeping him steady. He frowned deeply. The spider child was breathing rather heavily, barely able to stand up on his shaking legs, and his body was giving off quite a lot of heat. "You can't even walk let alone barely stand on your own."

He glanced at the ground, cringing at the sight of bail. (Though now that he got a good look at it, it seems his new friend was on an empty stomach.)

"Right. I think its best you come with me for now."

"no." Wilson blinked in surprise, looking at the spider child questionably. "m-mommy… mo-mommy says i'm… n… not to… follow st-st… strangers…"

Wilson couldn't help but smile a bit. "Well, in other situations, your mother would be right. However, not this case I'm afraid. You're sick and I want to help you get better."

"w-why?"

Wilson paused. That… was a good question. Why did he want to help this child spider he just met? It was odd, if not very questionable behavior on his part. They had just met after all, and he still wasn't sure if this spider child was hostile or not.

Looking at the spider child, he could see that they were fighting to stay awake. Six of their eight eyes were already almost shut.

"… Because you need help. And it wouldn't be very gentlemanly of me to leave someone in need. Especially if they are a young child." Wilson answered honestly. (Plus, he was still rather curious about this spider being and wanted some answers. But he could get that after the poor boy was feeling better.) "My base shouldn't be too far away from here. Do you think you can manage walking there?"

The spider child blinked sluggishly at him, looking down at his feet and tried lifting one leg up… and collapse against Wilson.

"… I'll take that as a no then. I guess I can carry you back. The base isn't too far away, and you don't look that heavy to carry… Oh!" Wilson slapped his head. "I haven't introduced myself properly yet! My name is Wil…" Looking down at the spider child, Wilson's words died in his mouth. The spider kid had fallen asleep against him.

"… Well, resting is recommended to get better." Wilson sighed, maneuvering the spider to his back and lifting them up carefully. The child mumbled something, pressing their face against the back of Wilson's neck before going still again. He smiled, making sure he had a good hold on the child and made his way back to camp.

… Though for some reason, he felt like he was forgetting about something.

)*(

"Yeah. Me."

Wilson cringed. "R-Right. Again, I apologize for coming back without thinking about how you would feel towards this… situation, Willow."

"Situation? Wilson, you just told me that that… thing used to be the skull I found earlier today?!" Willow pointed at the spider, which was now off of Wilson's back (thank goodness) and laid out on a straw roll.

Wilson shot a glare at her, looking very offended. "They're not a thing Willow! They're a living being! A sick one at that I might add."

"Wilson, it's a spider. It's a hairy, black, eight legged spider. And you just brought it back to our base because you felt bad for it despite the fact that once you get it to full health, it'll just kill you like all the other spiders in this horrible place!" Willow ranted, throwing her hands up in the air.

"He won't do that Willow."

"And what makes you so sure?! It could be another trick by Maxwell! Did you even stop to think about that?!"

Wilson opened his mouth to retort, but closed it with a look of realization. He looked at the spider, frowning a bit before sighing. "Hadn't thought of that."

"Of course you didn't." Willow sighed, rubbing her face. Silence hung around them for a while, the air feeling heavy with doubt, worry, and uncertainty. Finally, Willow stood up, picking up the spear (noting how Wilson flinched a little and moved closer to the spider) and pocketed Bernie. "Look. I'm just going to go check on the rabbit traps. Just… think about what you're doing, okay? It's good that you want to help… them. But you really have to think it about the consequences before you do something."

Wilson stared at her a moment before giving her a small playful smile and tilting his head a little. "And where would the fun be if I didn't take the risk?"

Willow gave him a flat look, pointing to the Meat Effigy that stood next to his tent (and not the one next to hers). "Gee, I don't know Higgsbury. You must really think death is fun in risk taking." Taking a small pleasure in seeing the scientist cringe, she turned on her heel and went off.

(While slightly hoping that Wilson would listen to her.)

)*(

The spider was still there when she came back.

(Of course it was.)

And Wilson was still sitting next to it keeping an eye on it. And not. He had a sheet of papyrus in his hands, writing something down on it with feather pencil, looking up once in a while to look at the spider before writing down something else. He gave her a little wave as she approached.

"Are you studying the spider?" Willow asked in disbelief, hands on her hips and tapping her foot in disprovable.

Wilson stopped jotting down whatever he was writing, looking rather sheepish. "Yes well. I don't really know how well I can treat a sick spider. Never had to before now. Thought it might be best to keep some notes just in case."

Willow sighed and rolled her eyes, but let Wilson be with his new friend.

She had more important thing to worry about anyway.

)*(

Willow had to admit, she never thought that Wilson would devote so much time on something else other than science. Yet day in and out, Wilson kept an eye on the spider, mentoring their health and studying them.

He was devoted to the spider so much that he skipped out on eating (as he normally did) quite a lot. If Willow hadn't felt nice (and worried about him) she would have left him to starve. But, she didn't. She wasn't like that. So she made sure to cook enough for both of them and shove his share in his hands so he would at least remember to eat. (And to shave often so he wouldn't get heatstroke in the summer heat.)

It wasn't till she came back from Gobbler hunting that the spider woke up.

Well, not exactly awake. They were still quite out of it and could barely make any legible sentences (but at least now she believed Wilson when he told her it could talk). It fell back into unconsciousness soon after.

Still, it made Wilson happy to know that there was some progress with the spider.

"Stop calling him the spider Willow."

"Well what do you want me to call him then? It's not like they have a name."

"I'm sure they do. Just, calling them the spider doesn't seem very fitting."

Willow paused in hanging up a slab of meat, giving Wilson a small glare. "And what would you call them then?"

"Nothing." Wilson huffed, studying the weird web beard the spider started growing around day three. "Not till I know their name so I can properly address them."

Willow rolled her eyes, getting back to her task. "Whatever you say ya dork." (She hadn't smiled in a while, but the glare she could feel him giving her made it worth it.)

)*(

The spider finally woke up one morning.

The same morning that Wilson (after countless sleepless nights of watching over the spider until she had enough and shoved him in his tent) was fast asleep in his tent, leaving her to be there when the spider opened its eyes and sat up.

Willow instantly tensed, sitting up straight as the spider got up and looked around. Eight eyes landed on her, and she really regretted letting Wilson take her spear away. She still had her lighter. She could still set the spider on fire if it did anything.

It blinked at her a bit. Then it yawned and rubbed its face. "Morning…" It (he, as Wilson kept reminding her) said groggily.

"… Uh… hi." Willow waved awkwardly, not entirely sure what to do. She still wasn't sure what to make of the spider. Wilson had assured her that he was (60%) certain that the spider was harmless, though she still had her doubts.

The spider blinked, opening their eyes again, and looked around the camp. It (He) took in its (his) surroundings, looking at every item that they (mostly Wilson) had built here. They looked back at her, tilting their head curiously. "… Where… am I?"

Willow felt even more awkward. "W-Well, this is a base. A summer base. It's a temporary place me and Wilson stay during the summer when it gets hot out an—" Willow stopped short, suddenly realizing that she was giving away too much information.

The spider didn't seem to notice her cutting her sentence off. Instead it (he) focused more on its (his) white beard that grew on its (his) chin. "What's this white stuff on my face?" It (HE) fiddled with the ends.

"I… don't really know. Wilson thinks it might be a beard. Made out of webs? I don't know. Wilson would probably know more than me."

"More than what?" As if on cue, Wilson popped his head out from his tent, yawning while rubbing the sleep out from his eyes (his hair even more ridiculous than before).

"Oh good you're awake! Guess who else is up!" Willow, glad for the distraction, pointed to the spider.

When Wilson turned his tired eyes on the spider, he smiled and waved. "Oh, good morning. Finally awake I see."

The spider waved back a little. "Hi…"

"Well that's some good news." Wilson stepped out of his tent, stretching out his back. "I was worried that you might never wake up." He went over to the spider, sitting down next to them. "Now then, how do you feel? Any pain? Nausea? Headaches? How's your temperature doing? Do you feel hot or cold? Do you see any blurriness in your e—"

"Hey genius, I think you should slow down with the questions and let the kid answer!" Willow cut off Wilson's brigade of questions, saving the poor spider from assault of a thousand questions.

Wilson shot her a look. "I'm just trying to know if he's suffering from anything else Willow."

"Yeah, well give him a question at a time. He just woke up." At that, the sound of a stomach rumbling caught their attention. The spider wrapped his arms around his mid-section, looking rather sheepish.

Wilson's brows shot up into his wild hair. "Ah! Yes! Food! I almost forgot. Wait right here. I'll be back with something for you to eat." Wilson got up and went to the crock pots, mumbling something under his breath as he started putting in ingredients.

Willow rolled her eyes, smirking a bit. It was good seeing Wilson doing something other than focusing on one thing all the time. Even if it was good intentions to help some overgrown spider… speaking of which. "Hey, kid."

The spider blinked, turning their head towards her.

"You got a name? Or should we just call you spider?"

"Willow!" Willow only shrugged as the spider looked down, playing with its (HIS) web beard again.

"… I don't know my name." They finally said after a while. "I-I know I have one but I… I don't remember it?"

"So, do you have a name or not?" Willow leaned her head against her hand.

"Willow don't be rude. He probably has some amnesia." Wilson came over with two stacks of waffles, handing one to her and one for the spider.

The spider tilted his head, looking at Wilson questionably. "What's am… amn… amnesha?"

"Amnesia. When someone loses their memory." Wilson clarified, sitting down next to the spider again, rubbing his chin. "Though, if you can't remember your name, then it's going to be quite troubling to know what to call you."

"Me mould musm smim miff mimmef." Willow, mouth full of waffles, suggested.

"Willow don't talk with your mouth full, it's a choking hazard. And we're not calling him the spider. We need to give him a proper name to call him."

Willow swallowed her meal. "Well, what do you want to call him then?"

Wilson hummed, looking at the spider child, who was nibbling on a waffle, looking at them up and down. "Hmm… well, it has to be a good name. One that's easy to remember…" He snapped his fingers. "I got it! Jason Mickharing Tesaverse Esquire!"

… Willow threw her plate at his head.

"OW!"

"We are not calling him that."

"It's a good name!"

"It's too long genius! Think of something shorter!"

"Okay, okay. Uh… Thunderaidium?"

"Too long."

"Einstein?"

"Ein—what?"

"It's short of einsteinium. A chemical element of—"

"Who would name anyone after an element?"

"Plenty of people would!"

"Yeah well it's not happening!"

"It's a good name!"

"I don't want to be named after an element…"

"Ha! See?"

"Whatever! Uh… James P. Sullivan?"

"No, feels like someone else's name."

"… Eh, you're right. Umm, Berry?"

"What?"

"Well he looks like a Berry."

"We are not calling him that! Plus he doesn't look anything like a berry!"

"Ugh! Fine! Uh, Will Jr.?"

"NO."

"NiGHTS?"

"I feel like you worded that in a weird way, but no."

"Silky?"

"Mmm, close. But still no."

"Ironwood?"

"Okay you're being ridiculous now!"

Wilson glared at her. "Well if you don't like any of my names, then why don't you pick one then?"

"Gladly." Willow sat back on her log, looking at the spider carefully. If she was going to name something, it would have to be better than Mickharing. Something that really fit well with the spider.

She eyed their head, limbs, eyes, just anything that could give her something to work with. Her eyes landed on the white beard on the spider's face, covered with crumbs from eating the waffle. It wasn't like Wilson's own beard when it grew out. It was silky and smooth looking. Not like Wilson's rough and scraggly bread when it grew out. But then again being made out of web instead of hair helped with that.

Web.

Beard.

Web beard.

Weeeb beearrd.

Webbeard.

Web…

"Webber." Willow smirked, crossing her arms. "Let's call him Webber."

The spider, Webber, blinked and looked at her in surprise. "Web… ber?"

"Yeah. Webber. Kinda like web and beard smashed together. Your beard's made out of webs so why not?" Willow smiled in triumph as Webber (it really fit them) smiled back and nodded his head.

"Yeah. Yeah! Webber! I like it!" Webber smiled, giggling a bit. It was… kind of cute.

"… I thought Jason Mickharing Tesaverse Esquire was a good name." Wilson sighed unhappily.

)*(

Summer past quickly, and soon it was autumn.

A wonderful time of the year to gather food, hunt Gobblers, burn down trees, and gather anything that they need to survive winter. Willow wasn't sure how seasons worked in this place. Time seemed to pass by quickly in this place then in the real world. (Or wherever they were.)

"Miss Willow! Miss Willow!" Willow turned around as Webber bounded towards her with something following after him. "Look what I found Miss Willow!"

"Webber, I told you. Willow is just fine." Willow couldn't help but smiled as Webber stopped in front of her, bouncing in place with a huge smile on his (oddly creepily adorable) face. She looked down beside him at the strange creature. "What is this?"

"I don't know! But he keeps following me around! Watch!" Webber run off, quickly being followed by the strange orange creature that bounded after him. Webber laughed as he ran circles around Willow, the creature not far behind him.

"Well, it looks like you made a new friend Webber." Willow giggled a bit as Webber's laughing was getting contagious. "But why is it following you? Do you have something that it wants?"

Webber stopped running. "Mmm… Oh yeah! This!" He pulled out something that made Willow do a double take. It looked like a bone… with an eyeball on top. It blinked at her. (Creepy.) "He sort of popped up out of nowhere and started following me after I pick this up! It's kind of creepy!"

Willow hummed, holding out her hand. "Webber, can you give me that for just a moment?" Webber obliged, handing her the bone. She held it up for the creature to see (if it had eyes) and started walking. Immediately it followed after her. "Huh. Guess this little guy follows whoever is holding this bone." She stopped, kneeling in front of the odd panting creature.

"Does this mean we can keep him?!" Webber asked, bouncing on the spot.

"Hang on Webs. We should probably let Wilson see him first just to be sure it's safe enough to keep." Willow patted the creature's head. She had a feeling that it was passive enough not to be dangerous, but she knew Wilson would want to study this thing before giving the okay.

In the distance, an explosion went off.

The two looked to the distance where the base laid, seeing a large smoke cloud rising up towards the sky.

"… After he comes back from the dead." Willow sighed.