Disclaimer: I do not own Everyday Life With Monster Girls.

Chapter 30 : Into the woods.

Dinner that evening went much more smoothly than lunch had. Nearly the entire household was gathered in the dining room. A fact that didn't escape Sula's notice.

"Hey. Where's Tetra at?" She asked the room.

"She's uh..occupied." A very relaxed harpy said breathily as she settled into her chair.

The elder echidna furrowed her brows. "You've been in Verandys' room for the past hour haven't you? How would you know what she's up to?"

"She's been in the 'fight gym' since lunch." Dawn informed. "I believe she asked to be left alone in there." Sula squinted a moment and opened her mouth to rebut when Lissa cut-in.

"It's true mama." The younger echidna confirmed. "She seemed upset about something."

Sula kept her expression. "Upset about what?"

Jack walked into the dining room with two pans of cornbread stacked crossways. "I'm going to ask her tonight." He approached one side of the table. "Take one and pass it to the end please." Joseph took the offered pan and passed it over to the line of his lamias. Jack set the other in front of his plate.

"Is she joining us? Oh!" Sula raised her head and looked about. "And where's Isaac?"

"He left for the airport hours ago." Verandys spoke up. "He's probably flying over..." She paused a second to recall her U.S. Geography lessons. "Colorado, Utah or Arizona by now."

Jack smirked appreciably. "You know your states."

She smiled and nodded her head side to side. "Kinda. His route should be similar to the one I flew in on, San Diego to Chicago. Just in reverse."

The elder echidna glanced down at her plate sadly. "Awww. I wanted to say goodbye to him."

Syleris leaned back, crossed her legs and folded her wing-hands behind her head. "You were ah, occupied too." She clicked her tongue.

Joseph snorted and chuckled in his throat. Sula glanced up and blinked a couple times. "Oh." She smirked and laid a hand on one of his. "Of course."

"You'll see him again soon." Jack assured then slipped his phone out. "As for Tetra joining us..." He consulted his messaging app. "She hasn't responded to my dinner announcement." He turned and walked back into the kitchen. Likely to hide his expression of worried disappointment from the others.

Sula frowned. "Well that's just rude." She folded her arms. "She should say whether she's coming or not." A beat. "I should go down there and demand an explana- huh?" She cut herself off as Verandys, Syleris and two of her children each shot her a wide-eyed expression of 'that is such a bad idea'.

She blinked. "What? What's wrong?"

Priscilla swallowed. "You didn't see her mama. She looked scary when Mr. Keysman interrupted her."

Sula blinked some more. Then she glanced down and placed a claw on her chin thoughtfully. "But it's not even the full moon. What could possibly...?" She thought furiously for a few moments. "It's like that night again but..."

Her speculations careened off-track as four distinct scents of sweetened cooked meats wafted in from the kitchen. Her stomach lurched with esurience and her tongue flicked out almost involuntarily. Each of the carnivores in the room tracked Jack as he set two extra large skillets on the table. He smirked silently and turned back to the kitchen to retrieve more.

Sula summoned all her self-restraint not to lunge and gobble up the steaming discs of cooked flesh. She noted her kids rapacious expressions and stretched her tail out under table. She laid it on each of her daughters' laps with a measured amount of pressure. Not enough to actually restrain them but a forceful enough warning. Each of them gave her an aggravated look just shy of a challenge.

Whether her exhortation to them was to maintain their manners or claiming all the meat for herself... well she'd answer that question, after dinner...probably the next morning.

Her willpower was strained however, when Jack returned with two more skillets. He laid them on the table and silently padded back to the kitchen. She could almost physically see the craving in her children's eyes. A mirror could probably achieve the same effect for herself at that moment.

"Please wait for our host ladies." Joseph's calming instruction set a lid on the potential frenzy. All the younger lamias and even Syleris glanced at him. Hunger raged against potential guilt in each of the carnivores' souls. Sula wouldn't admit which side had the more convincing argument in her head. But she did grasp the hand of her husband under the table and squeezed it as hard as she dared. His eyes winced for only a fraction of a second.

Jack hefted two large bowls of mashed potatoes and handed one off to Joseph. He passed it to his wife and she replicated the motion she used to pass down the corn bread pan by mere muscle memory. If she were in a more...unfocused state of mind, she might have spared some mental effort to realize that Maria just to her left had done the same.

"Oh- ho 'kay." Jack chortled at the head of the table. "Dinner is served."

He barely got the last word out before each carnivore snatched up a fork and speared several ham steaks. Some even skewered two on the tines and lifted it toward their mouths.

"Remember to cut your meat ladies." Joseph's gentle reminder froze each of the lamias, and Syleris, in place. By some miracle of unrehearsed coordination, each flopped the meat discs on their plates and retrieved a knife in their opposite hand. They all slashed twice and then stuffed the meat chunks into their greedy gullets, finally. A chorus of satisfied moans emanated from each of them.

Sula let the sweetened, delectable, grilled flesh slide around her tongue a moment before swallowing and stabbing her plate for another.

"Umm." The centaur raised a hand. Her host raised his eyes at her. "What about...?"

Jack set his fork down and clenched his eyes shut. "Oh, bloody." He stood up and slid his chair back. "Sorry Verandys. I'll get your salads." He spun and half-dashed back the kitchen. Two moments later he set two stacks of clear plastic trays with a greens dominated array of vegetation contained in each. Jack marched back and retrieved one of the rice cookers. "I also steamed as much broccoli as I could fit in here."

She smiled and pried open the lid. "Mmm, perfect." She scooped up a large spoonful. "Thank you Jack."

"My pleasure." He nodded and set a packet of shredded cheddar cheese by the rice cooker.

Verandys blinked. "What's that for?"

Jack blinked back. "Well, for the broccoli of cour- oh duh." He lightly slapped his forehead. "You're probably not a stubborn picky eater like I...used to be."

The centaur raised an eyebrow as a silent query.

"Your mother melted cheese on the broccoli to get you to eat it?" Dawn smirked. "Didn't she?"

Jack closed his eyes and nodded. "Yes. Velveeta." He admitted. "I was one of those obstinate brats that refused to eat their vegetables."

Verandys recoiled in horror at his words. "Refused to eat..."

Jack looked back at her. "Oooh yeah...that's like, choosing to starve for you, isn't it?"

She managed to nod slowly. "Yes." She deliberately stabbed a stalk with her fork and placed it in her mouth. Mostly to distract her from the ghastly idea.

"Well." He clapped his hands together. "I hope everyone's enjoying dinner."

A chorus of positive hums responded and he resumed his seat at the head of the table.

"Jack am I crazy?" Syleris piped up. "Or do these ham steaks taste different?"

"You are crazy." He dead-panned with a grin. She squinted at him, unamused.

He held his expression and shrugged a shoulder. "What? You gave me a slow pitch."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "A slow what?"

He cocked his head. "Oh dammit." He nodded his head ruefully. "I did it again." She furrowed her brow further. "That's a baseball expression." He rolled his eyes up. "Which is weird, since I don't really even like baseball."

Verandys raised a finger. "That's a sport right? Humans play it in Mexico."

Jack nodded. "And a lot of other countries have adopted it." He lifted a finger dramatically. "But it's known as America's pastime."

"Games can take a couple hours right?" Dawn asked.

"Or longer." He confirmed. "The record for longest official game is ten or so hours I think."

Sula, finally satiated enough to follow a conversation, raised her eyebrows. "Who can play the same sport for ten hours?"

Jack chuckled. "It's not a sport that requires constant physical activity the whole time. Which," He lifted a finger again." Is one of the reasons I don't particularly like it. There's too much downtime."

"How do you play?" Syleris asked.

Jack thought for a moment. "Hmm. Oddly enough we do have, let me see..." He started making a count of his guests, lightly pointing an index finger over the table. "That's five and then two then Dawn, Tetra, and myself make ten." He nodded contemplatively. "One for each position and a batter. We could actually do this."

Joseph raised a finger. "Point of order Jack." The host set his hands down and gazed at the other human. "My ladies are very strong. If they go up to bat..."

Jack followed his reasoning and his eyes widened. "Ooooh yeah that's...that's a problem."

Sula glanced between her husband and her host. "What's a problem?"

Joseph smirked and side-eyed her. "Well dear, a part of the game involves throwing a ball. And the batter has to hit the ball, with a bat, usually as hard as they can."

She squinted a moment, trying to visualize the scenario. "Umm okay."

"Which means that a lamia batter could knock the ball out of the park...and we'd likely never find it again." He postulated.

"Oh." She chuckled. "So we're..." She narrowed her eyes and grinned. "Too strong for baseball?"

Jack barked a laugh. "Uh yeah, I guess you are."

She shrugged a shoulder and gave a tight smile. "I can live with that."

Jack shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Anyways," He faced his harpy roommate. "Back to the ham steaks. Yes, I did prepare each skillet differently." He pointed a fork at the nearest one. "That one is a mostly classic recipe. I just added pineapple rings." He adjusted his grip a couple degrees. "The next is supposed to be especially sweet cause I added honey." One more adjustment. "And the last two are a mild spicy recipe involving salsa and taco seasoning. And a medium spicy with cayenne and chili powder."

"Mmm." Syleris nodded enthusiastically. "Which one was the sweet one?"

Jack pointed at the second dish and the harpy speared two more steaks. She attacked them with gusto.

He eyed Joseph a moment. "So, where are you from originally? I assume you weren't born on Snake Island."

Sula's husband smirked. "No, I certainly was not." He put down his fork a moment. "I was born in a coastal village near Bayonne, France."

Jack raised his eyes and consulted his memory of European geography. "That's..." He blinked a couple times. "I actually don't know where Bayonne is, sorry." He hunched down in his seat, ashamed of his ignorance. "Atlantic or Mediterranean?"

"Atlantic. Not too far from the Spanish border." He answered.

Jack nodded a couple times. "Okay, that helps." He faced him directly. "So how'd you even hear about Snake Island?"

Joseph smirked. "You want to hear my whole life's tale?"

The other man waved a 'go on' gesture. "Well a couple highlights at least." He put it down and gave a light smile. "You're my friend's husband. I'd love to hear how you met."

Joseph took sip a of water and glanced over at 'his' girls. All four were silently smiling at him in rapt attention.

He sighed and put down his cup. "It's not that exciting a tale, but very well."


Approximately fifteen years ago...

"Ethan, how long is this going to take? My mom's gonna be mad at me if I'm late for supper again."

"Don't be such a whiner." The older teenager chastised. "We're almost at the rock where I saw it." He looked back. "Just keep rowing."

Joseph grumbled under his breath and continued the repetitive motion with the oars. "You're doing the rowing on the way back." He declared.

Ethan waved back distractedly. "Yeah, yeah. Now keep your voice down, you might scare him away."

Joseph scrunched his face in confusion. "Him? You just said it was 'it'. What are we-"

"You'll see, you'll see." He assured. "Now shut up and keep rowing. Should be just on the other side of this rock."

Joseph frowned. "I still don't get why we couldn't have taken the motor boat."

"My dad would've heard it. We can't let him know we're out here."

"What!?" Joseph twisted around. "Are you saying we just stole your dad's row boat?"

"It's the family's boat." He defended. "And stop arguing, you're gonna scare him."

Joseph was incensed. "You won't tell me why you dragged me out here and now you tell me you stole this boat. Are you stupid?"

"Will you shut up! You're going to ruin this." Ethan implored. Joseph ignored him and started paddling with only one oar. "What are you doing?"

"I'm taking us back to the dock." He said adamantly.

"No you can't, we're almost there." Ethan pleaded.

"If we're lucky we'll get back in time and no one will know that we were out here."

"I have to see it!"

Joseph rolled his eyes. "'It', 'him'. What the hell are you even talking about?"

"I saw a merman!" Ethan exploded.

Joseph stopped. He turned around and faced the other boy. Ethan's expression was desperate and excited. For the briefest of moments he wanted to believe him. Then he glanced over at the bare rock they had been approaching. There was no one and nothing there. Not even seagulls.

Joseph furrowed his eyebrows. He'd seen that rock a million times. But there's always seagulls there.

Curiosity and a creeping dread piqued his interest. He swiveled back and started rowing again.

"You...you believe me?" Ethan chirped hopefully.

"No." Joseph answered.

He blinked several times. "But, then why?"

"There may be somebody stranded out there." He put more effort into his rowing. "I think you saw a survivor."

Ethan sucked in a short breath.

An extra splash drew Joseph's attention to the side of the boat. But he could only see his oar disturbing the water. He shook his head and kept rowing.

"Almost there. Almost there..." Ethan chanted encouragingly.

Three strokes later and he grew quiet. "Ethan?" Four strokes. "Ethan you see anything?"

His friend was silent. "Ethan!"

Joseph slowed and glanced over at the other side of the rock.

"There's...nothing." Ethan's words carried out his confidence. He leaned over the side and squinted. As if he were going to spot a clue or other sign of recent habitation.

Joseph examined the rock. The top of it was covered in bird shit. High tide hadn't washed it clean yet. But there were no seagulls. Something had to have disturbed them and he knew it wasn't himself or Ethan.

So what it is?

He scanned the water about them for any sign of a big fish or a-

He froze.

Something was staring at him from just under the surface.

No. Not something...someone.

A face. A human face with an aquiline nose and violet eyes was gazing curiously.

"I'm sorry." Ethan sighed and leaned back. "I..I guess I didn't see anyth-" Joseph back slapped his elbow. "What?" Joseph tapped his elbow twice. "What? I don't-"

"LOOK." He blurted.

Ethan twisted around. At the same time the face rose out of the water.

He was lightly tanned and sported a long light cyan mane. Pearlescent teeth flashed a grin. He set two bare arms on the rim of the boat. "Well. What are you two minnows doing out by my new favorite sunning spot?"

Joseph and Ethan glanced at each other, as if to confirm that, yes, they are seeing a man with blue hair and purple eyes talking to them.

He smirked and tilted his head. "Something wrong? Catfish got your tongue?"

"You, you were under the water." Joseph stated numbly.

The purple-eyed man cocked his head. "And you're in a boat." He casually pointed at Ethan. "You're turn."

Ethan blinked several times. "Hu-huh? What my...turn?"

"Yes." The stranger in the water nodded. "Your turn. To state the obvious." He grinned even wider at their silence. "I'm sorry, I thought we were playing a game."

Despite the awkward meeting, a section of Joseph's brain worked out the logic and he chuckled once.

"This guy gets it." The blue haired man pointed at the other boy.

"What... are you?" Ethan asked. "Are you really a...?"

He raised one hand and leaned sideways. A large light blue fish tail with black fins poked out from the surface. "A merman, of course." He kept his grin. "You have heard of Atlantis, right?"


Present day.

Joseph shook his head, recalling the old memory. "I'll never forget the first extra-species I ever met that day." He smiled lightly while leaning back in his chair. "It was like having a blindfold removed."

Jack tilted his head a bit. "He just, swam up and talked to you?"

The other man chuckled. "Sounds a bit far-fetched doesn't it?"

The host shrugged. "Years before the reveal... yeah."

Joseph laughed again. "The 'reveal' hehe. Sometimes I forget the rest of the world needed to be informed of my family's existence."

Sula shrugged. "Well, it's not like we were announcing ourselves all over the globe before that."

Jack leaned back and crossed his arms. "I don't know...some of those early YouTube videos were pretty reckless." He cocked his head. "Like the one with a dozen actual zombies dancing by Jackson's house. Or the wyvern that landed on the top of Big Ben and roared like she owned it. That caused quite a tizzy." He waved a hand. "I remember a few movie studios claimed that it was all CGI. But a few hundred Londoners said it was real."

"Hmm true." Joseph acknowledged, then waved a hand. "Anyways, it turned out that Ethan's father had already known about merfolk for years. In fact hundreds of sailors around the world did."

Jack nodded. "That makes sense. I've heard that most merfolk are pretty friendly."

"More than just friendly." Sula added. "My people owe a lot to the kingdom. They're the very reason we could recruit men to our tribe in the first place."

Jack tilted his head. "How so?"

She raised a claw. "The kingdom of Atlantis rules the Earth's oceans. All of them." She emphasized. "Nothing moves across their territory without their knowledge."

Jack nodded. "That's right. Lot of things are going to change if they join the U.N."

"Mmm." Sula continued. "When our matriarchs decided to recruit men for procreation, they sought to make a deal with the kingdom: Find and transport willing men to our island in exchange for goods and favors." She set her hand down. "We couldn't be who we are today, without them."

Joseph raised a fork "Yep. That's how I ended up living on the other side of the world." He placed his other hand over his wife's. "With the most beautiful women on the planet." Sula blushed and giggled. Her daughters grinned and chortled.

Jack smirked and tilted his head. "But like, how? Were you shown pictures? While you were still in France?"

"Oh that?" Joseph turned back to the head of the table. "Sometime after I met that merman, I learned that several extra-species need human males for procreation. I was given an option to join a community of them. The merfolk present it like a career option." He snickered proudly. "I chose the most dangerous ones on a dare."

Jack leaned forward, eyes nearly bulging out. "Seriously?" Sula narrowed her eyes a hair. "Sorry sorry. No offense." He held up a hand. "But you just..." He blinked. "You didn't know any of them, did you?"

"Not really, but I wasn't worried." Joseph offered a hand. "The kingdom monitors the communities they transport humans to."

Jack tilted his head. "Monitors?"

Sula lifted a claw. "The kingdom regularly sends an inspector to gauge our husbands' health and well-being. If any community is abusing the humans they transport, that community is cutoff and the kingdom stops all trade with them, for a time."

"Oh." Jack stated and then nodded after a few moments of thought. "That's, incentive."

"Exactly." Joseph iterated. "I was warned that the lamias of Snake Island were the most venomous and aggressive on the planet. But," He lifted a finger. "They had been trading with the kingdom for over a thousand years. One of their most reliable partners with the fewest reports of incidents." He smirked. "It intrigued me."

"Then Ethan made the dare, probably as a joke." He flashed his teeth. "I still remember the look on his face when I accepted."

Jack smirked in admiration. "So where is he at? Ethan?"

Joseph leaned back and raised his eyes. "I believe he took a job with the French Exchange program." He waved a fork. "Not sure what he does. We kind of fell out of touch after I arrived at the island."

"Hmm." Jack nodded. "Thanks for telling me."

Dinner proceeded without further incident and most retired to the front room. The kids perused Jack's movie collection and picked out all the ones they wanted to watch. They even made a separate stack on one side of the flatscreen.

For some inscrutable reason, Maria insisted they watch the Matrix first.

Jack leaned back and marveled at just how young Keanu looked. He smirked to himself. But then, Keanu is immortal is he not? Perhaps he's some sort of extra-species...

Jack's phone alarm went off just after the lobby gunfight scene.

"Mmph." He thumbed it off and stood up.

"Jack?"

He turned to the side and partially faced Sula. "Time to take Tetra out. Wish me luck."

She wilted back to the couch. "Okay. Good luck Jack."

The host walked around the furniture to not block the TV and picked up a few items from the kitchen. He deposited them in the van and then proceeded to the back of the house.

Right outside the 'fight' gym he hesitated. Jack pulled out his phone and sent off a text. He knocked on the door about a minute after.

"Tetra." He called while unlocking it with a key. "I'm coming in." He twisted the handle and pushed in. "Are you ready to g-"

Jack froze. The fight gym was destroyed. Decrepit with webbing. An aura of darkness pervaded the entire room. He coughed and gagged. He held up an elbow to his nose and backpedaled. The air was rank.

Fading dusk light from the windows dimly illuminated a scene of carnage. The punching bags had been torn to shreds, stacks of weights knocked over and strewn about. Jump ropes were sliced into confetti.

And everywhere was webbing. Thick webbing, thin. Cable strong cords and hanging nets. They crisscrossed the entire chamber and one entire wall was practically coated in the substance. Benches were suspended in the air and all the practice dummies were entirely cocooned and hanging from the ceiling.

"oh...gods." He breathed.

One part of his brain, the logical, calculating, self-preservation oriented section, simply said 'nope'. His fear center yelped and babbled incoherently.

The other part of his brain, the sensitive, curious, emotional risk-taker, urged him to confront and address the obvious pain on display. His chest burned and clawed at his heart.

"Tetra?" He called and stepped forward. His foot crunched onto the carpet of webbing. He glanced down and just saw several threads rise from the floor and entwine around his leg in a brief snippet of clarity. His fear center screeched.

"Oh shiiiIII!" Jack pitched like a siren. His legs snatched out from underneath him and he tumbled backward. More threads hooked around his chest and shoulders. They yanked him forward into the center of the room.

Spread-eagled and suspended, Jack could only face up. At the middle point of the ceiling, a dark mass twisted and tugged the threads. Six points of red lit up from inside the epicenter of darkness.

"Tetra! Tetra it's me! It's Jack!" He shouted desperately.

The threads rose and drew him to the maw of darkness. Sharp points glinted in the murky black.

"No! Tetra it's me!"

The threads rushed him. Pulled him toward doom.

"AAAHHH!" He shut his eyes and tried to brace his arms. "Inconceivable! Inconceivable!"

Everything stopped.

Jack held his eyes shut, not trusting the sudden calmness.

"Jack." Her voice. Strained but controlled.

He cracked open one lid and immediately gasped. Six red eyes were mere centimeters from his own. He held absolutely still.

"Ja~ack." Huskier, sensual.

"Uhh..h-hi Tetra." He tried to wave but his arm barely moved against the webbing. It felt like it was encased in a full cast.

"Jack. You're not food." Less husky, more controlled.

"Um no." He assented. "Host. Friend."

"Friend?" Genuine curiosity.

He nodded. "Yes. I'm your friend. Boyfriend even." He hazarded.

"Boyfriend." She repeated. A pause. "Not boyfriend."

Jack sucked in another breath. "Not..what?"

"Not boyfriend." The husky tone returned. She cracked a huge grin and her fangs flashed. "Mate." Her eyes narrowed in focus.

Oh no.

"Jack is mate." Sensual. Alluring. "Jack is my mate."

"No. No no no." He shook his head. "Not mate. We're not mates."

She skittered on her threads to the side. One of her arms slipped under and into his shirt. The tips of her claws tickled his ribs. His heartbeat picked up pace.

"Aaaahhhh no." He shifted and tried to shy away. Her other hand gripped the rim of his pants and pulled down.

"Tetra no!" He shouted. "No. Inconceivable!"

The arachne stopped. She withdrew the arm from under his shirt and raised her head.

"Not mate?" Sad, confused. Her eyes wavered.

Jack held firm. Overpowering his own lust and fear by sheer willpower. He had to get through. Don't act like scared prey. "No. Let me go."

She blinked. She blinked twice more.

"Jack." Normal tone. No strain, no inflection. She looked down at her hand just inside his pants.

"Oh." Her arm withdrew like she'd burned it on a hot stove. She placed it on her cheek and rattled her head. "Ugh, what... what is...what am I?" Her eyes closed in concentration.

Jack breathed out slowly, letting his heart slow down. "Are you okay Tetra?"

Her head leaned back. "I'm..." Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around. "Oh goddess." Her neck craned about. "Did I? What did I do?"

He narrowed one eye. "You don't remember?"

She blinked and her eyes unfocused. "No..I do remember." Her lips tightened. "I remember...frustration and… that idiot!" Her eyes flared.

He reared his head at the venom in her voice. "Hey, who are you-"

She held up a hand to his face. "Not right now." She shut her eyes tight again and sucked in a heavy breath. "I'm.. I'm all tense and...I needed to take it out on..."

Jack nodded lightly. "Right, you said you needed to hunt."

Her eyes slit open. "Yes." She hissed. "A hunt."

He swallowed. "That's what...That's why I'm here. To drive you to a forest."

She smiled and let out a contented hum. "Yes. A good hunt is what I need." She casually flicked her claws at several threads above and around his body.

Jack dropped almost thirty feet to just above the floor. "Ah!" He jerked to a stop just shy of the mats.

Tetra shimmied down and landed right beside him. "S-sorry Jack." She sliced more threads from his body as he glared. "That was...careless."

He held it a few more seconds as she finished removing the last threads from his person. "There, now we can-" She stopped.

Jack folded his arms. He didn't say anything.

"Jack?" She probed. "What is it?"

He stared a moment longer. "Not to be a hypocrite but...you really can't tell me whats going on with you? Why you're," He waved at the room. "Destroying the gym?"

The arachne shut her eyes. "I'm...really sorry Jack." A beat. "Something, almost happened at lunch and I am tense and frustrated about it still." Her eyes opened. Sincere remorse was written all over her face.

"I will talk to you about it, but I need to vent first, as you put it. And there's only two ways I know of that can do that."

She waved a claw between them. She poured doubt and unrealistic expectations into her inflection. "Either we have uncompromising, wild sex here and now. Or." She pointed that claw at a window. "I hunt."

He nodded slowly. "Thank you Tetra." He stepped forward and hugged her. "For telling me."

She started at his advance and stepped back but didn't try to get out. "Ugh...That's twice now."

He craned his head up. "Twice what?"

Her lips lined into a half-formed frown. "That's twice you've surprised me, today." She jabbed a thumb at herself. "Me, an arachne, surprised by a human." She shook her head. "Goddess, if I belonged to a colony, what would they think of me?"

He smirked. "Who cares? I love you."

She glanced down with a genuine smile. "I love you too Jack."

He swallowed and coughed as her unwashed stench finally permeated into his lungs. He grunted and turned his head.

She rolled her eyes and stepped back from him. "Yes, yes. I will take a shower."

Jack let her go and held his arms out to inspect himself. There was a few extra sweat stains on his clothes "Ugh, I should probably get one too."

Tetra flashed a grin. "We could take it together."

He narrowed his eyes seriously. "No." Her grin didn't fade. He pointed right at her. "I'll take the second floor bathroom. You take the first floor." She held her expression.

Jack pouted. "And don't you go, walking in on me all-" He waved a hand about and took on a fake innocence tone. "'Oh I got mixed up and went to the wrong one' bullcrap."

She just smiled and started walking passed him. "As you wish."


After the shower, Jack taped signs to the outside of the fight gym doors, warning the rest of the household to stay clear. He also picked up a few breakfast bars on his way to the garage. He opened the doors and stepped out, then stopped.

He frowned and looked about. "Uh Tetra? You here?"

He turned around. "Maybe she's just..." The kitchen was empty. "Huh."

Jack scratched the back of his head and faced back to the van. "I guess I'll have to wait for her." He took two steps.

He felt an almost silent whoosh right at his back. He spun back and tripped on something. He started falling backwards over the concrete steps. Panic forced his arms out to regain balance.

His super stealthy girlfriend grasped one of his wrists and pulled him in for a kiss. "Wuuuu-mph."

She held him for a good three seconds and then let him break off. "What? What the heck was that?!"

The arachne grinned widely. "There. Surprised you once today." She folded her arms. "Now we're almost even."

Jack placed a hand over his racing chest and nearly doubled over. "Even?" Two rapid breathes. "Jesus, Tetra you're gonna kill me."

She froze. It took Jack a moment but he noticed. She wasn't smiling when he looked back up. "Tetra? What's-" He blinked. Her expression was neutral but a terrible grief at the core of her eyes screamed at him. It struck like a punch to the face.

Horrified realization sunk into his stomach. "Oh gods. Tetra I didn't mean...I didn't mean that, I..." He held out an arm.

She closed her eyes and skittered passed him. A whisper barely registered from her lips. "Let's go."

Jack watched his hurt girlfriend walk away and enter the rear of the van. He grimaced and followed. Every step of the way, his head and heart punished him for his carelessness. "I...I..."

He opened the door and climbed in. Emotional turmoil anchored his arms with a great weight. He couldn't close the door or even turn the key in the ignition. His head swam and his vision blurred.

He couldn't leave like this.

The logical side of his brain yelled at him to do something, anything. The whole body had gone haywire. Jack shut his eyes a moment to summon up some resolve and then hopped back out of the van. He walked around and yanked open the back doors.

Tetra regarded him with some alarm. "Jack? What're you..?"

"I'm sorry!" He couldn't face up to her. "I'm...I'm sorry." He swallowed and continued. "I shouldn't have said that. I should have been more careful. And I know that I hurt you. And I'm sorry."

A dead silence fell over the garage. He stood there waiting. Waiting for...anything. A retort. A sigh. A command. Anything.

Just when he had despaired that he'd done irreparable damage she whispered again. "Please step up here Jack."

He blinked and craned his neck up. She was holding out her hand. He couldn't quite read her eyes. Wordlessly, he grasped her hand and she hauled him up. She placed her other hand on his shoulder. "I'm going to teach you something."

He furrowed his brow in concerned confusion. "O-okay."

She swallowed and glanced just off from him. "When arachne formally apologize to each other, the offender says: 'I beg your forgiveness'."

His confusion wasn't cleared but he followed along. "I-I beg your forgiveness."

A slight uptick at the corner of her mouth preceded her next statement. "Then the offended party says: 'Accepted and given'."

Jack blinked a couple times. His brain worked out the logic slower than he might have but he arrived at a conclusion he was confident in. "The, the apology... the 'I'm sorry' is implied."

Her uptick increased into a full smile. "Exactly." She blinked and glanced downward a degree. "Arachne are a proud species, excessively some might argue. We are, most times, too proud to say the words to each other."

Jack almost frowned. "You've said it to me quite a few times. Tonight even."

She let out a chuckle and faced him directly. "You're not an arachne." He wasn't sure if he should be offended or appreciative of that proclamation so he decided discretion was wiser. He later came to the conclusion that it was merely a statement of fact.

"If one arachne formally admits fault." She lifted a claw. "It means the species as a whole is not flawless. Our egos don't always take that well."

Jack blinked several times at the weird logic. "But...the offender literally begs for something...that's not ...exactly a proud thing to do. Is it?"

She curled her claw back in. "You forget. My people insist on trading favors, and services." He tilted his head slightly. "Begging forgiveness already 'gives' the apology. Thus the offended party is obligated to give something back."

Jack tilted his head some more. "That... seems ripe for potential abuse."

She chuckled again and narrowed an eye. "Very astute. But," She offered a hand. "Formal apologies are an exception to our custom. No one will fault a fellow arachne for rejecting an apology or refusing to forgive."

He gazed off to the side. "Huh, alright. I think I get that." He stared for a bit longer and recalled at least two of their previous conversations. "No I..." He blinked. "I really do get that." She smiled sadly in response but didn't comment.

Too deep to heal...

Tetra cleared her throat. "Lastly, the offender expresses thanks for being forgiven."

Jack faced back to her slowly. "Thank you Tetra."

She smirked haughtily, playfully. "You're quite welcome Jack."

He chortled and shook his head. He shook his head a little more. "But..." He faced her again. "But..." He lifted a hand. "I'm not an arachne, so does it really count?"

She tilted her head. "An apology is still an apology. No matter what form it takes."

Jack raised his eyes and nodded, conceding the point. "That's true." A pause. "But," He blinked a couple times, thinking hard. "I don't know... I feel like an apology shouldn't be some...formal thing. It should be natural, or something."

She folded her arms and regarded his words. "It doesn't apply to all grievances. There is a..." She nodded her head side to side. "Subjective hierarchy of wrongs that a formal apology would apply to. Most times a mistress or other authority figure would require a formal apology to resolve issues between my people. But if the offender is feeling guilty enough, a formal apology given without an order is generally considered sincere." She inclined her head. "Do humans not have rules regarding apologies?"

He glanced upward and hummed noncommittally. "Americans do...ish. They're very loose." A beat. "We tend to use 'I'm sorry' for everything." He focused his eyes in concentration. "And some of us are such lawyers that we often have to clarify the exact offense we're apologizing for."

"Well then it's settled." She replied. He blinked rapidly at her confidence. "When you formally apologize to me, you will use the arachne method." She waved her hand at him. "When you apologize to anyone else, use whatever bland methodology spills out."

Jack chuckled heartily. "Alright." He sighed. "Should we get going?"

She closed her eyes briefly. "Please."


Jack made only one stop at a gas station while driving to the Little Rock Campground in the middle of the evening. He purchased a larger bundle of fire wood, and some lighter fluid and continued into the night. He stopped a moment and regarded the three quarters moon in the mostly clear sky.

Driving out west wasn't a new experience for him, he'd visit relatives that own a farm on the major holidays. But this night he was searching for a specific road and didn't know if it was marked sufficiently enough to be seen in low light conditions.

Fortunately Tetra had been on the lookout as well.

"Jack. I think you passed it." She announced from the back.

He blinked and let his foot off the gas. "What?" He quickly glanced at his maps app. "Oh you're right."

He slowed and pulled slightly to the right and attempted a U-turn. The narrow two-lane road only allowed for a three-point maneuver. He wrenched the wheel and set the van rolling back the way they came.

This time he didn't miss the standard sized sign announcing the road to the campgrounds.

A man in a ranger's uniform and a flashlight waved him down just outside the checkpoint booth. The tall twin lampposts shown on a forties-something Hispanic wearing a tad overly wide brimmed hat. Jack depressed the brake and waited.

The ranger walked around and approached the driver window. "You our late arrivals?"

"Yes." Jack answered. "Name's under Keysman."

The ranger nodded and then craned his neck and swiveled the flashlight to peer inside the interior. "You got a liminal with you?"

"Yes." Jack thumbed behind himself.

"Mind if I look?" The ranger asked in that professional 'order but not an order' tone.

"Yes sir." Jack answered automatically. The website mentioned an inspection when registering an extra-species guest (per Exchange laws stipulations), so he wasn't surprised by the scrutiny.

He set the gear in park and opened his door and hopped out. The ranger followed behind. He unlatched the rear door and swung them open.

The ranger peered up and aimed the light at Jack's guest. Tetra silently stared back.

"Ah, arachne." The ranger nodded. "Same rules as before. Don't disturb the other campers and clean up after yourself please."

Jack and Tetra tilted their heads in confusion.

"Same rules as before?" Jack repeated.

The ranger eyed the other man. "Yeah. Just like every other time you've-" He halted and squinted. "You're not him."

Jack shook his head slowly. "No..I'm not."

The ranger placed a hand on his forehead. "My bad. I thought you were that guy that brings his arachne here once a month or so." He shook his head. "But his name's not Keysman." He swung the flashlight back toward Tetra's lower half. "And you don't have striped legs."

Jack and Tetra each glowered. There was only one other arachne they knew that matched his description.

"Oh." The ranger flicked his eyes between them. "I take it you've met her."

Jack took a slow breath through his nose and out again. "Yes."

The ranger nodded. "Didn't get along with each other eh?"

Tetra ever so slightly squinted. "Something like that."

He raised a hand. "Well no worries. She's not here tonight. So go on and enjoy yourself." He thumbed off his flashlight and returned to the booth.

Jack and Tetra glanced at each other briefly and then nodded. There was nothing to talk about. She closed the doors and he returned to the driver's seat.

He found an out of the way spot not claimed by any other campers right at the edge of the forest. He parked and shut off the engine. Tetra clambered out the back. She skittered around to the side door where he was gathering up his camping materials.

"Need...do you need any help with that?' She asked.

Jack pivoted around and faced her. She was pacing in place again.

"No go on." He jerked his head toward the trees. "I got this."

She smiled lightly. "Are you sure? I can-"

"Tetra go." He cut her off as gently as he could. "We're not really here to camp." He jabbed a finger toward her. "You're here to hunt. Don't worry about me."

Her smile brightened in the murky dark and she leaned down and hugged him tightly. "You're the best host ever."

Jack smirked back. "I know."

She chuckled and retreated a step. One clawed hand retrieved her phone and held it out. "I won't need this and I don't want any distractions."

He grasped it and held his fingers on the device a moment. The phone would be the only tether to her host out there. Without it... he'd have to call MON to track her down if she didn't return. Verandys' warning about letting Tetra loose echoed in his head. "As you wish."

As soon as her claws lifted from the smartphone she moved. She was gone. Jack didn't even see which direction she'd disappeared to. He sighed, pocketed the extra device and then gathered the rest of his supplies.

A ring of stones marked a fire-pit just a dozen yards from the van. He consulted instructions he saved on his phone and set up a blazing roasting spit.

"Ah. Finally." Jack relaxed on a lawn chair and attached a tiny lamp to his newest Star Wars book. He thought he got to about the seventh chapter when he caught himself dozing off. Probably for the second or third time.

He consulted the clock on his phone.

She's been gone almost two hours. I should give the house a call.

He pressed the call button for Dawn's number. She picked up.

"Jack? How's it going? Is Tetra feeling better?"

He adjusted his body to an upright position. "Yeah, she's doing better." He glanced over at the woods. "But she's not back from her hunt yet. I'm starting to think this might take all night."

He set his book aside and laid it open on the ground. "She didn't say how long this would take, so..."

Silence on the other end. Jack blinked and sat up straighter. "Dawn, you there?"

"I'm here Jack." She answered. "I'm informing the rest of the house about what's going on."

"Oh." He replied. "Is everyone else there? Just put me on speakerphone."

A moment later. "We're all here Jack." Sula announced.

"Okay. Like I said, she's not back yet..." He thought he heard a grumble. "And she left her phone behind."

A pause. Then Verandys' voice. "I don't think you should have let her do that Jack. We've seen what she did to the 'fight' gym."

He pressed his lips together. Of course, they looked.

"Yeah, maybe not." He sighed. "She said she didn't want any distractions." He swung his legs out and stood up. "Look, she needs this. She told me herself."

More silence. "She'll come back girls. Don't worry." Even as he said it, A tightness in his last words betrayed a lack of confidence. He didn't know it was there until he'd spoken them. A suspicion that he'd just told a lie crept into his heart.

He could just imagine them looking at each other worriedly. Wondering if their host was only just now realizing how naive he was.

"But she loves him." Syleris' voice. Barely audible from the receiver.

Jack shut his eyes. The clawing, burning just inside his chest returned.

It's only been a couple hours. She'll be fine. She'll feel better and then she'll come back. She'll come back. She has to-

"What's that Jack?"

He sucked in a breath. Did I just? "No I..." He gritted his teeth a moment. "It's alright girls. She'll come back." He hung up.

Dammit that was rude. And stupid. And not reassuring at all.

He shook his head. Trying to excise his self-recriminations. "Damn it."

Jack glared at the forest. He debated running in after her. "Hours after she'd gone in? You'll never find her."

He sighed in exasperation. "And I'm talking to myself now."

Jack plopped back down on the chair. "Being in love sucks." He grimaced and reached for his book.

Only it wasn't there.

He blinked and felt around the grass. He leaned over and tried to locate it by the firelight. "What..? Where did I?" He stood from the lawn chair and hunched down to peer under it. "Where did it go?"

An unfamiliar woman's giggling startled him. Jack spun around.

A barely illuminated creature was perched atop the van. Jack sucked in a breath as his eyes tried to pick out the details.

The first thing he noticed was her clawed chitinous hand gripping his book. Like she'd been reading it. Her other clawed hand tapped at a spot just above her chest. "My apologizes human." She flipped the book closed and held it out. "I couldn't quite resist. I haven't read this one yet."

Jack blinked a few times and attempted to keep his heart rate under control. "W-who are you?"

She grinned with a full mouth of fangs. "A fellow Star Wars fan, of course."

He blinked some more. She waved the book, indicating he could have it back. He stepped up and took it gingerly.

The firelight glared off the smooth dark chitin that covered her arms. Her face held six solid black eyes and a wavy shock of reddish hair. Her ample bosom was covered in a simple gray tube top. A black sash wound around her waist and hung between her lower limbs.

Jack stepped back after reclaiming his book. The creature clambered down the side of the van and stood before him.

She wasn't as tall as Tetra, in fact she was probably closer to his own height. And with the better lighting he could take in more accurate details. Like how her eyes were actually a dark blue and the hips and tips of her eight large legs were pale orange. Her slimmer abdomen sported two white stripes from waist to spinneret.

"An arachne." He blurted.

She nodded, still grinning. "Correct, human."

He lowered his eyebrows. "What are you doing here?"

She waved her claws at herself. "My mistress has encouraged us to make more social contact with humans. To foster understanding and respect."

He looked at her askance. "Us?"

She nodded. "My colony."

Jack glanced down in thought a moment. "Oh." He whipped his chin back up. "You're a native."

She nodded again. "Correct again human." She waved toward the woods. "My colony was dwelt in these forests for as long as we can remember."

He rubbed the back of his head and beat back his underlying terror with reason and willpower. If she wanted to kidnap me she would have done it already. His fear center insisted on asking her the question.

Jack swallowed. "I, I hope you don't find this too offensive but..." She cocked an eye at his hesitation. He summoned his resolve and pressed on. "You're not here to kidnap me are you?" His voice almost broke.

She blinked and reared her head. "Oh goddess no." She raised a palm. "Please, don't be afraid. I'm just here to chat."

He drew in a breath through his nose and let it out slowly, expelling as much of his anxiety as possible. His paranoid fear center disbelieved her and insisted on calling for help.

Jack made a conscious decision to sit back down on his chair. "Thank you." He faced her directly. "I'm sorry if I offended you."

She shook her head and approached by two steps. "Not at all human. We are aware of our... " She hefted a clawed hand. "Capabilities and reputation." She sighed. "Especially aware of recent events that have...strained our relations."

Jack really didn't want to talk about that. So his mind clutched at any other topic. "So you're a Star Wars fan?"

She grinned and nodded. "Indeed. I love the mostly simple good versus evil adventures of the early stories and the acceptance of the human rebels to fight alongside non-human companions." She waved a hand. "They just take it in stride and speak with them as equals."

Jack nodded and smiled. "Yeah, that first scene where Luke walks into the Mos Eisley cantina and there's all those aliens everywhere, just sitting around like folk."

Her eyes lit up. "Oh yes. And they meet that amazing Chewbacca with his pet human."

Jack blinked several times and cocked his head. "Pet human? Han is his partner."

She smirked knowingly "Oh I'm sure he is. Such a good... 'partner'."

Jack stared at her, eyes narrowed. For some reason her assertion held a grain of merit in his mind. He glanced to the side and tried to parse out the reasoning. "But...Han rescued him when they first met. Chewie swore a life debt."

"Which one has the longer life span?" She prodded.

Jack's face went slack and his jaw gaped. "Oh. My. Godz." Her smirk got smirkier.

He raised a hand. "Wookies...wookies live like, four or five centuries. And, and." He shook his arm trying to remember a quote he'd read somewhere. "Lucas once said that their relationship is like a man and his dog, but..." Jack paused as the previously unthinkable notion suddenly rang with the veracity of truth. "Chewie is the furry one but...Han is the dog!"

The arachne across from him nodded like a teacher, acknowledging a student that stated a correct answer.

Jack clapped his hands over his mouth. "Oh my godz. That makes so much sense." He stretched out one arm and raised his index finger. "Obi-wan talks to Chewie first. When they needed to get off Tatooine. He talks to Chewie first..." He stared in almost numb shock. "Because Chewbacca is in charge. Han is just a badly behaved pet he feels responsible for." She chuckled in her throat.

Jack stared up into the mostly clear night. "Godz that makes so much sense." He faced back to her. "I'm not going to be able to unsee that now."

"What did you think of the latest film?" She prompted.

"Rogue One?" He acknowledged. "I was very impressed actually." He lifted a palm to the side. "They turned the first three lines of the opening crawl for episode four into a full film. Oh!" He raised both hands excitedly. "And the name is perfect. Because Luke forms Rogue Squadron after he joins the rebels and now that name is in honor of Jyn and Cassian and the others that died getting the Death Star plans."

She hummed. "You know your lore."

Jack nodded confidently. "Oh yeah, my friends still ask me Star Wars trivia and try to trip me up. And if I don't know it, I know where to find it. I'd just blurt out the answer next time I see them along with a bunch of other details I ran across."

She clapped her hands together. "This is fun." She glanced about. "You got anything to eat?"

Jack blinked a couple times. "I thought you were just here to chat."

She teetered her hands like a scale. "Eat, talk. Both involve the use of mouths."

He snorted and stood. "Sheesh." He walked over to the van and retrieved a couple breakfast bars. "Sometimes I think that's all I do these days." He presented one to his guest and tore off the wrapping for the other.

She sliced the wrapping off with one claw and bit into it. "Hmm. A bit dry." She commented. "I was expecting candy."

Jack shook his head. "Can't indulge in candy. My trainer would just make me run off the extra calories."

She tilted her head. "Your trainer?"

"Yeah, I'm a host for the Exchange and I've gotta keep up with all of them." He hefted the breakfast bar. "Not that I really expect to be able to match any of them physically, but I might as well make the effort for my own sake."

"Oh, you're with the Exchange." She exclaimed. "I suppose that explains the van." She glanced about. "So where are they?" Her mouth cracked an evil grin. "And what would they think of their gracious host playing hookie with some strange arachne in the woods?"

He chuckled at her licentious assertion. "That's kinda what I'm already doing." He explained. Her grin faltered. "One of my guests is an arachne and she's been..." He nodded his head side to side. "She's been having a bad day." Jack refocused ahead. "So I brought her out tonight so she could hunt."

The spider woman was still as a statue. But each of her eyes widened. Jack stared at her askance. "What's, wrong?"

She pointed a claw right at his chest. "You brought a foreign arachne." Her voice was aghast. "To hunt in our territory?"

He blinked. "Well we didn't know it was- oh shit." He jerked forward. "Oh shit. Shit, shit, shit."

She put down her half-eaten bar and stood up to her full height. "I have to go. I have to stop them." Then she moved. And was gone.

Jack spun around toward the forest, where he thought she sprinted off too. "Wait! You don't even...know her name." He stood alone and a fetid feeling of helplessness settled into his stomach. "I don't even know your name."

He jogged two steps toward the woods and stopped abruptly. "You'll never find them." Despair dragged the strength out of his voice. "You'll never find them in time."

His fist clenched. "But you know people who can." He stuffed the other hand into his pocket and retrieved both his phone and Tetra's. "Perfect!" He ran around to the back of the van and opened up the doors. He set both phones on the top of the ramp. Jack scrolled through both contact lists and found the two he needed. On his phone he dialed for Agent Serilla. On Tetra's phone he dialed for Sula (who bore a personal note of 'yummy gold snek' for some reason.)

They answered at almost the same time.

"Tetra? Is there something wrong? Are you alright?"

"Jack? It's past eleven. Is something wrong?

"Listen up!" Almost a bark, but definitely a command. He tapped the speakerphone function of both devices. "I've got an emergency and I don't know if I have much time to explain much. Understand?"

"Understood." Serilla's professional voice.

"Uh. Okay Jack, I'm listening." Sula's worried tone.

He closed his eyes and attempted to compose himself. Panicky miscommunication wouldn't help him, wouldn't help Tetra.

"I've got MON and my house on speakerphone with mine and Tetra's phone. I am at a campsite in the Little Rock grounds and Tetra's out in the woods hunting."

"Oh no."

He ignored the note of dismay from the agent.

"I met another arachne who claimed to be from a colony that considers these woods their territory."

"Oh that's bad." Sula commented.

"Right." Jack confirmed. "She's already left. She said something about stopping them."

"That's good." Serilla stated confidently. "That'll buy us some time. HALIA! I NEED A HOTDROP ASAP!"

"We're on our way too Jack." Sula said. He was about to dare to smile.

"NO!" The agent screamed. "No! You can't."

"Why not?" Jack's eyes flew open in concern.

"It's their territory Sula. If a bunch of foreign liminals show up stomping around their woods, they'll consider that an invasion. They'll attack." He blinked. "We have to approach this peacefully."

"How?" He demanded.

"Just you and me." The agent concluded. "I'll explain when I get there." She disconnected the call.

Jack gritted his teeth and yelled. "Hey wait. Don't hang up on me. We need everyone here to look for her!"

"No Jack." Sula's solemn resolve came over the line clearly.

He blinked in befuddlement. "Wha- But Sula, you can find her. Can't you?" He pleaded.

"It's not that simple Jack." She stated. "Invading another tribe's territory is serious. Serilla is right. It has to be just you and her."

"What? How can you know that?"

"Because that's what my tribe would do if a group of foreigners invaded our island." She expounded. "If it's just a couple strangers in the wrong place, we'd stop and confront them." A pause. "Any more than that though..."

She let that thought trail off and Jack formed his own conclusion. "You'd attack."

"Most likely." She confirmed. "I'll let the rest of the house know what's happening and tell them that you and MON are handling it."

"But, but what if-" He started to argue.

"You can do this Jack." She assured. "I'll pray to the goddess for both of you."

Then she hung up.

He stood there alone in the night.

"What. What." He shook his head slowly. "What am I supposed to do?"

He dropped his chin to his chest. An odd bit of logic demanded to be voiced.

"If I can do this.. why do I need help from …a goddess?" He nodded his head around. "Well, if she's better at granting mortal requests than-"

His phone played its ringtone. Agent Serilla was calling. He snatched the device to his ear and answered. "Hello?"

"Jack. I got through to Mistress Jil'Tanith." There was a note of relief in her tone. "She's willing to meet with us to talk about Tetra."

He righted his head. "Who's? Wait they know her name?"

"Yes. The mistress knew Tetra's name."

He closed his eyes and slumped in place. "She's talking. She's alive."

"...We'll get her back Jack." She reassured. "Just keep both your phones on so we can track you."

He nodded slowly in agreement. Then he realized that the agent couldn't actually see him. "Uh yeah. C-can do."

"We're taking off now Jack. See you soon." Her call ended.

He was alone in the night again. But his confidence was back. "She's alive. She's alright." He scooped up both phones and pocketed Tetra's. "We'll get her back." He strode over to the fire and stared into it.

"Mr. Keysman?"

Jack sucked in a breath through his nose and snapped his head up at the voice. "Who's there?"

The arachne from before stood just inside the campsite. The firelight glared off her legs and arms. "May I join you?"

He narrowed his eyes at her hesitation. "You didn't ask for permission the first time."

She dipped her head a degree. "And that was very rude of me." She acknowledged. "May I join you?"

"...Sure."

Jack noted that her clothes were a bit disheveled, her hair had a leaf stuck just above the crown. The burning spikes in his chest didn't care about that. "Tetra?" He tried to not make the question a demand.

She lifted a palm. "She's alright Mr. Keysman." His eyes bore into her. "She's... a little scratched up and we've...detained her."

An exaggerated thought of Tetra hurt and bound and helpless inflamed his emotions. He tried to keep a rein on them. "Where?"

She swallowed. "We've taken her to our warren. She knows that you're looking for her and that MON is sending an agent to negotiate."

He raised an eyebrow. "Negotiate?"

She glanced at him seriously. "Tetra intruded on our hunting grounds. That cannot be overlooked." She flexed one hand. "Compensation is demanded by our traditions."

Jack shut his eyes and held them. He let out a breath. "Fine." He reopened his eyes and glared. "What do you want for her?"

She shook her head. "My mistress will determine that during the negotiations."

He folded both arms. "Is that all?"

"I have been directed to conduct you and the MON agent to our warren." She continued. "I will require you to-"

His phone rang. Serilla was calling again. He held up a finger asking for the spider woman's patience while he answered. "Jack? We're right above Little Rock. Do you have a flare or something to direct us?"

He knew he hadn't packed a flare, but he did have flashlights. "Yeah I got something, hang on." He held the phone between his shoulder and cheek while he opened the van's side door. He grabbed one in each hand and thumbed both on. He stepped back, raised each in the air and waved slowly.

"Ah. I think we see you. Stand by."

Jack continued his impromptu 20th century spotlight rehearsal until he heard a rhythmic flapping. He couldn't locate the source but he caught the arachne behind him with the corner of his vision. She was pointing up and to the east. He tried to follow the same bearing but couldn't make anything out.

The flapping drew closer and closer..and then stopped. Jack frowned for a second until he heard a light thump from just behind him. He spun around and aimed both flashlights.

Agent Serilla, in full MON gear, held up a hand to block the brightness. "Jack, you can turn those off now."

He blinked rapidly. "Oh, right." He thumbed both off and replaced them to his pockets. The other agent alighted beside her partner.

Jack had never met agent Halia in person, only seen her in passing. Like with Syleris, her species seemed to be some blend of human and predatory bird. The firelight illuminated her large thickly feathered dark brown almost black wings and a fine collar of smaller unblemished white around her neck and shoulders. She stood maybe an inch shorter than Jack, but her legs were toned and sported three large talons at the end of her toes. He imagined that she only needed a small hop before she could fly off again. Her MON jacket and utility belt featured larger and more accessible pouches, likely to accommodate her lack of true hands.

He nodded toward the new arrivals. "Serilla, good to see you again." He leaned over to get a better view of the other MON member. "And Agent Halia, right?" Her black eyes barely left from the arachne to acknowledge him. He recognized the professional focus and didn't press for more of a response.

To his surprise the other arachne smiled. "Serilla. Very good. Welcome back." She held out one hand. The agent smiled back and grasped the appendage with her own and they drew in for a hug.

"Always good to be back, sister." The agent responded.

Jack blinked at the exchange. Then he held up a finger. "Uh...um...not actual sister, sister right?"

Serilla giggled and stepped back. "No Jack." She waved toward the larger arachne. "But Dinah and I were both hatched not three miles away from this very spot."

He twitched his neck. "Oh. You're a local too?"

She nodded. "Indeed. We're from the same colony." She rolled a shoulder. "Now, let's go get Tetra back."

The other arachne, Dinah, raised a hand. "About that." She pressed her lips seriously. "I'm afraid we have to insist on the standard security protocols."

Serilla grimaced and glared back. "This isn't a standard situation, it's just a lack of communication, a misunderstanding." She waved at Jack. "There's no ill-intent involved."

Dinah shook her head. "The mistress insists."

Serilla dipped her head and shook it. A low growl escaped her throat. "Stubborn, paranoid, carapace bound-."

"Watch your tongue sister!" Dinah shrilled.

Jack and agent Halia bristled. The harpy leaned forward and assumed a combat stance.

Agent Serilla held a hand up to her fellow agent. "Jack, I'm so sorry but, I'm going to have to ask you to trust me."

He paused and tried to dissect the situation. "What's the standard security protocols?"

The arachne agent turned back to him. "Mistress Jil'Tanith has agreed to meet with you for negotiations." She held up a claw. "But the negotiations will take place where Tetra is being held."

"Detained." Dinah asserted. Serilla rolled her eyes.

Jack held up a finger. "Which is at the warren?"

She nodded. "And no one from outside the colony can know it's exact location."

He narrowed his eyes and tried to work out the logic. Halia arrived at a conclusion first.

"I dislike this solution." The other agent stated firmly.

Dinah darted a look. "Harpies have no voice in-" Serilla held up a hand to her face.

Jack glanced between the ladies and took in a breath. "How am I supposed to get to a place if I don't know where it is?"

Dinah reached behind her and produced a wide length of gray silk. He eyed her hand a moment and then glanced over at agent Halia. "I dislike this too."

"I'm so sorry Jack." Serilla pleaded. "I'll guide you as best as I can."

He held up both hands and formed fists slowly by his head. "Let me get this straight." He closed his eyes. "You want me to follow you, into the forest, at night, for miles..." He pressed his palms to his temples. "While blindfolded?"

"I'll need the batteries of your phones and other communication devices handed over as well." Dinah said.

Jack reopened his eyes and let out a breath. "This is the only way?" Serilla nodded sadly.

A pause. "The things I do for these girls..." He retrieved both phones from his pockets and was about to give them over when another thought occurred. "Better yet..." He pivoted and held them out to Agent Halia. "If the girls call, can you let them know what's going on?"

The agent nodded seriously and stored both devices in one of her pouches. "I will Mr. Keysman." It later occurred to him that he could have tried to smuggle Tetra's phone.

"Call me Jack." He turned back to Dinah. "Since she's not coming with us?"

She nodded and looked over at the other arachne. "And you, sister?"

Serilla sighed and removed her radio and phone and handed both over to Halia. "Monica'll smash me if I break her equipment, trying to get the battery out correctly."

The harpy placed a wing-hand on her shoulder. "Bring them back." She briefly eyed Dinah. "Or I will find you."

Serilla smiled. "Thanks." She dipped her head. "It'll be good to see the old home." She pivoted toward Jack and held out a hand. "Ready to go?"

His fear center spazzed like a cat on fire. He beat it back down with a mental mantra. This is for Tetra.

This is for Tetra

This is for Tetra

This is for Tetra.

He strode forward and grasped her hand. They walked to the edge of the forest and halted. The murky dark past the firelight's radius engulfed the world beyond. He gauged that he couldn't see another fifty feet away even without the blindfold.

This is for Tetra

This is for Tetra

This is for Tetra.

He sucked in a breath through his nose when the cloth covered his eyes. His breathing picked up.

This is for Tetra

This is for Tetra

This is for Tetra.

He took three slow steps. "Oh watch out for that-"

Jack's foot landed oddly on something solid. It slid off and he panicked and stumbled to one knee. "Gozdammit!" He ripped off the cloth. "This isn't going to fuckin' work!"

He didn't look up. He just glared at the tree root that he nearly broke his neck on.

Halia folder her wings."I could fly him over." She suggested dryly.

"No." Dinah insisted. "Just the three of us. The mistress insists-"

"I know what the mistress insists." Serilla cut her off. "But she has a good point. It'd be easier and safer if we carried him."

Jack stood up, turned around and attempted to blast both arachne with heat vision. Unfortunately, he didn't have that super power.

"The last time I was carried off by an arachne to someplace unknown, I. Nearly. Died."

Both ladies suddenly found a reason to study the ground right beneath them.

Dinah raised her eyes after a moment. "Mr. Keysman. Do you trust the word of an arachne?" He didn't say anything.

Serilla looked up at him and placed a hand on her heart. "Jack. I'll get you there safely. I promise."

He deliberately didn't look back at Dinah. "Yes. I do."


Goddess forgive me.

Agent Serilla gripped one end of the hammock her charge laid in and tried not to see the distress and terror on his face. He was clutching the gaps with his fingers and hanging on for dear life.

A hollow stab, deep inside her soul, cut at her for every second that she had to put him thorough this.

What he must think of us...

Dinah had volunteered to hold the front end and guide their little group and Serilla was initially relieved. She'd not been back to the warren in some time and she honestly wasn't sure she knew the way perfectly.

She was confident she'd find the nearest entrance eventually, it was her old home, but the shorter the trip, the better for Jack.

But now she could see the helpless human she was transporting, and she wished she could switch positions, if just so she didn't have to- She shook her head.

No time to think about that now.

Serilla reaffirmed her hold and pressed on.

The whole crux of this situation is going to be on her.

She speculated on how a meeting between Jack and her mistress would play out. Her lips pressed in.

Under better circumstances...She shook her head again. No. I've got to figure out what to say to him. Tell him what to expect.

Agent Serilla ruminated on what the human should know while advancing through the murky dark.


"...ack? Did you hear me?"

"Y-yeah." He answered automatically. "Yeah, are we there yet?"

"Yes." Agent Serilla answered. "You can get down now."

Jack swallowed his fear and pivoted his legs to the side. He used his grip to slide off the hammock and place his feet on the ground.

He still had no clue where he was. His breathing was...calmer than the last time he'd been carried off by arachne, but his heart was still pounding like a drum solo.

"Can I take this off yet?" He didn't quite demand and reached up to his face.

A smooth hard appendage wrapped around his wrist. "Not yet." Dinah stated.

Jack gritted his teeth. "It's night!" He protested. "I can barely see anything anyways."

"I'm sorry Mr. Keysman." She released his arm. "Just bear with it a little longer."

Jack balled his hands into fists and sorely wanted to take a swing at her. Instead he just imagined it and tried to hold that thought.

He was about to go into a series of mental arguments and rationalizations for such a violent notion when he heard a series of taps and clicks.

"What? What is that?" He swiveled his head to catch the noise better.

"The code." Serilla supplied. "We're almost there Jack."

He let out a heavy breath then started a quiet mantra. "almost there. almost there. almost there. almo-"

Something large shifted mere feet from his legs. It rumbled and vibrated the damp earth right beneath him. It groaned like a stone giant waking from a nap.

Then it stopped. The night was silent again.

"Is? Is that it?"

A clawed hand took one of his. "Yes." The agent answered. "Try to follow me Jack." She tugged his arm. He gingerly took a step and didn't faceplant.

He took another. And one more.

An odor wafted into his nose. It was funky, fungal. "What is that smell?" He held his other hand up near his face.

"Agaricles order." Dinah replied from behind him.

Jack blinked inside his blindfold and partially turned his head. "What?"

"Bioluminescent mushrooms." She expounded.

"Oh." He nodded. "That...that's good. I think."

Serilla tugged him forward again. "It slopes down right here Jack. Just take it slow."

He swallowed again and heeded her instructions. His other arm reached out for something to brace on in case he slipped. He expected to feel solid stone. Instead it was fluffy and thick with long tendrils. Like he'd touched his grandma's ancient living room carpet. "Oh. What's...what did I just..?"

"That would be me."

Jack recoiled from the deep contralto a mere foot from him. "Omigods!"

The contralto voice huffed and snorted in amusement. "Sensible human."

"Oh Jack." Serilla's legs padded up to him. "Just keep your hands at your sides for now, okay."

"Uh yeah, yeah." He nodded and kept his free arm at his chest. "Um, sorry, whoever you are."

"Doubly sensible." The contralto noted. "There's hope for this one yet."

Jack's eyes widened in alarm. "H-hope?"

"Stop teasing him, Valura." Serilla chided.

Jack pictured a smirking arachne staring at the agent. "C-can I take this off now?" His free hand reached toward his head.

"No." Dinah and Valura commanded. Jack's hand froze.

Serilla sighed at his side. "Oh, just close the door already."

Heavier 'footsteps' preceded a grunt of effort. Then the stone giant rolled over and went back to sleep.

"There." Valura announced. "Now you may take it off."

A spike of paranoia jabbed at his heart and Jack hesitated. He brushed the tips of his fingers on the silk cloth, waiting for any of them to demand he cease.

Serilla placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know you're scared, Jack." She ran a claw from her other hand alongside his temple and they lifted the fold off together. "But we're not going to hurt you."

The blackness of the blindfold was replaced by dim grayness. He could barely determine the agent's silhouette from right in front of him.

He blinked a few times to try to accommodate and squinted. "I thought you said there were bioluminscent mushrooms."

"Ah, of course." Valura stated. Jack heard more heavy padding. "I forgot to switch on the lights."

It started behind him. A pale green glow revealed the three arachne in the wide tunnel he stood in.

As he suspected, but wasn't really prepared for, Valura was a large-breed arachne. He sucked in a short breath. Everything about the woman emanated raw physical power.

Almost as tall as Tetra and sporting twice as thick limbs, Valura's violet eyes regarded the human with some amusement. The 'fingers' on her hands were actually full size claws easily half a foot long. Her carapace was covered in a carpet of thick brown hair. A tan mane of kingly proportions framed a severe but not unpleasant face. Her grin displayed a full set of thick large unblemished fangs.

A simple black t-shirt barely contained her bust and a thick black belt strapped a- well Jack hadn't actually seen a skirt like that before. It seemed to be made up of several lengths of leather weaved together. He imagined it was flexible and very, very tough.

Valura pivoted to the wall behind her and reached out. The muscles rippled under the hair of her arm and reminded Jack of heavyweight boxers. One of her claws tugged on a thread. A line of mushrooms jostled and slowly lit with a green glow. The tunnel radiated a cool light all the way down as far as he could see.

"Whoa, cool." Jack marveled at the breadth of the tunnel, it could easily accommodate two large-breeds walking side by side.

"Thank you." Valura nodded. "It took us years to get these to function similar to a lightbulb."

Jack hadn't studied much about botany (was it botany for mushrooms?) but he did know about crossbreeding. And if it had taken them years...

He furrowed his brow. "Wait." He turned back to the trio of spider-girls. "Why did you even make these. You can all just see in the dark can't you?"

Valura snorted and held out a hand. "Well for you, human."

Jack's expression didn't change. "I thought people outside the colony weren't supposed to know about this place. So why...?"

The large-breed tilted her head. "We have a select few humans, that we allow into our home." She waved at him. "Such as yourself."

He blinked a couple times. "Oh...duh yeah."

He stared ahead for a few moments. Valura's chin twitched. "Something wrong Mr. Keysman?"

Jack pressed his lips together. "Um...yeah." He lifted a hand. "I'm trying not to seem...but...you're not really what I expected from a large-breed."

She chuckled to herself. Then she was in his face.

The creature charged so fast Jack didn't even register that she'd left her position. The next thing he saw was her fanged maw, inches from his nose.

"Gamigodz!" He stumbled backwards and threw up both hands, way too late to ward off any attack. He fell back on his ass.

"Valura!" Serilla came to Jack's side and grabbed one of his arms. "What are you doing?"

The large breed leaned down, right above the hair of his brow. Her hot breath besieged his cheeks. "And what exactly were you expecting Mr. Keysman?" Her tone dipped below freezing. "A berserker monster with horrendous strength and no compulsions to rein it in? A blood thirsty abomination with no respect for the living, hmm?" She licked her fangs.

He didn't say anything. His mind couldn't form a cohesive thought. Whether fear had paralyzed him or a sensible resolve to not provoke the predator right in front of him was responsible, he never knew.

"Valura that's enough." Serilla admonished. "This is hard enough for him already."

The large-breed twitched one eye. "And how is the surface, dear sister? Enjoying all those moments in the sun with the 'understanding humans.'" She literally made air quotes with her claws.

The agent flashed the back of her hand. "My husband and I quite enjoy our work." The sheer difference in size between them was staggering. Like a corgi standing up to a St. Bernard.

Valura scoffed. "Your work." She finally retreated a step and folded her powerful arms. "'To foster peace and cooperation'" She quoted. "'For the betterment of all kind. All species.'"

The agent dipped her head. "We've had a set back, a bad one." She tugged at Jack's arm. He pulled his feet under him and stood numbly. "But we haven't lost everything." She laced her fingers through Jack's. "He told me himself. He doesn't blame all arachne for Marian's crime."

Valura's face didn't betray anything, but her stance...Jack recognized the poise, the repose. She'd relaxed her guard.

He blinked a couple times. "What you said." He lifted his hand. "You...that was from Senator Seaborn's speech. When the Exchange bill went to congress."

"And passed." Serilla smiled. "See? We can do this Valura. Just have patience. And trust."

The large-breed raised an eyebrow. "Trust? We're holding his homestay hostage. How's he supposed to trust us?"

"We've detained her." Dinah insisted. "For violating our territory."

"This is just a misunderstanding." The agent countered. "We'll get this worked out. Everything will be fine." She let go of Jack's hand. "If anything, it's my fault for all of this."

All fourteen eyes turned to her. She sighed. "I should have told Tetra to avoid this forest, at the very least."

Dinah shook her head. "Revealing the location of the warren to outsiders is forbidden, sister."

Jack squinted one eye. "That's not, technically, revealing it...is it?" He glanced between the two of them.

Serilla frowned. "Tetra would have figured it out instantly." She noted ruefully. "Hiding behind a technicality won't protect my people should the worst occur."

He blinked. "The worst?"

All three spider-women stared at him.

"I'm...I'm sorry." He shook his head. "I'm missing something."

There was a long pause.

"War. Mr. Keysman." Dinah stated. "Between your people and ours."

His jaw slowly unhinged. But his mind was working out the logic. His expressions went through shock, pondering, sober acceptance and then to benign skepticism. "I..I am sure Tetra would keep that to herself. She's kept things from me."

Valura shook her head. "We have to be very careful whom we trust Mr. Keysman. Even fellow arachne."

His brow raised in realization. "Marian."

Dinah nodded. "She nearly destroyed everything, Mr. Keysman, when she nearly killed you. Arachne could have been banned from the Exchange because of her stupidity or worse." She growled.

Jack stood back. The thought that Smythe would return Tetra to Africa stabbed at his gut. And he remembered why he was in this damn tunnel in the first place. "I want to see her."

Dinah nodded and pivoted toward the slope. "Please follow me Mr. Keysman."

He noted that she hadn't specifically said he would be able to see her. But this was literally the only path before him. He took a breath and fell in behind. Agent Serilla followed closely at his heels.

He blinked and looked back at the large-breed. "Uh is she not..."

"I am tonight's door warden." Valura answered. "Good luck and goddess' blessing upon both of you."

He squinted and scrutinized the easily a ton weighing boulder that sealed the entrance. "That's not a door."

The large breed smirked and folded her muscled arms. "Just because you can't open it, that doesn't mean that it is not a door."

His eyes widened for a few seconds. Then he closed them for a moment. "I am so done with all this. I need a vacation." He turned back to the tunnel. "Someplace with just normal strength women."

"Define 'normal'." Valura shot with a grin.

He shook his head and proceeded down again. "Human strength." He stressed and threw up his hands. "And no claws, no fangs." The two smaller arachne hid smirks of their own and escorted their whining guest. "No weird powers. Two legs maximum. And minimum." He held up an appropriate number of fingers. "Same goes for eyes, and arms. And ears."

His curious mind noted the earthen walls of the tunnel were reinforced with thick cables of webbing, like steel girders.

"No venom. No feathers or talons."

The tunnel stretched hundreds of feet into the deep.

"No scales, no fur."

The air was cool and clear, he could only pick up an occasional hint of odor from the fungi.

"No hooves, no tails."

He noticed several small holes in the ceiling, likely for ventilation purposes.

"No-" Serilla placed a hand on his shoulder. He jerked his head back. "Wha-?"

"You should ask Kelly if she has some time to chat with you."

He blinked. "That's a... very good idea. Thanks."

She smiled and patted her hand. "Also, we're almost there Jack." She informed.

Trepidation seized his throat. He could see a landing just ahead of Dinah. And the sound of skittering legs...a lot of them. And voices...a lot of them. Whispering.

He stepped out onto the landing and instantly wanted to step back in.

The tunnel had opened up into a huge cave. He couldn't see beyond the edge of the tunnel's light. The lack of walls actually felt more oppressive, than without.

He could see movement and the occasional glint of reflecting light from claws and eyes in the darkness. And all around him they were whispering.

"He doesn't look like much."

"They really sent him? Didn't he.."

"...surprised he even made it..."

"There's only so much a human can take..."

"He seems fun to tie up. I wonder if he'd..."

"Look, he's scared."

"Really sister? What human wouldn't be?"

"Be quiet. There's the mistress."

The skittering and voices stopped.

Jack held in a breath as the silence continued.

He almost jumped when Serilla placed her hand back on his shoulder. "Whatever you do Jack." She warned. "Be respectful. Always address her as mistress or madam."

"I, I only call Tetra mistress." He blurted. There was a muffled snort somewhere nearby.

He missed the agent's grin. "I know. You'll be fine Jack." She slipped her hand away.

And Jack felt utterly alone.

"Lights, please." A foreign accent announced from above. "For our guest."

Shafts of pale moonlight pierced into the cave from several points a hundred or so feet above. Gauging from the distance they traveled, Jack surmised that the cave was the size of a small stadium. Like an ice rink. Only the stands were filled with arachne.

They were everywhere. Giant spider-women were everywhere.

All sizes, all claws and legs and eyes. Large breed, small breed. The long-legged ones he'd seen in pictures. Only now one was merely four meters to his left.

All colors too. Pale white, blue, black, orange, brown, green, and yellow, mixed, matched and mismatched. If he wasn't on the verge of a full mental breakdown, he might have compared the sight to a collage of children's coloring books. Like someone had copied the same page of arachne outlines and given a dozen children all the crayons in the box.

Descending on a single thread from the central shaft of moonlight, a solitary arachne commanded all their attention.

Her carapace was black and peppered with amber spots on her joints and all along her abdomen. Her rearmost legs drew out the thread she was hanging on until she reached the cave floor. Her abdomen was narrow and probably a bit longer than average.

Her reddish black hair sported a non-nonsense chin length straight cut that framed her face. Her eyes were pale yellow orbs set in a mocha colored forehead. A small nose was perched above her full coffee colored lips.

She wore a gray silk gown adorned with a darker gray silk belt. The buckle seemed to be a small golden shield.

She raised a hand palm up.

"Dinah. Thank you for fulfilling my request." Jack couldn't place her accent. Initially he thought it was a cultured Italian but there was something distinctly Asian. Like she'd spent a few seasons in Hong Kong.

"As you ordered mistress." The arachne to Jack's immediate left replied.

"You may join your sisters." Dinah nodded and skittered off into the crowd.

"And Serilla." She addressed like a teacher acknowledging a favored student. "Despite the unfortunate circumstances, it is good to see you home."

The agent nodded with a small smile. "It is good to be home, mistress."

"You may join your sisters as well."

Serilla nodded again. "Thank you mistress." She patted his arm for encouragement. And then left.

Jack swallowed down his anxiety. He forced himself not to wipe away the sweat beading on his brow.

Don't act like scared prey.

Sula's words echoed in his head and Jack held on to them. Imposing as much calm and dignity as he could muster.

The mistress was watching him. Evaluating him. He knew all the other monsters were doing the same, but her eyes pierced through his flesh like paper. He was completely out of his depth and he knew she knew.

He waited. And waited. And waited for the end.

But he didn't dare look away or even tap a foot.

Finally, she smirked. "And now, our guest." She gave a tiny almost imperceptible bow. "Welcome Jack Keysman." Her hands flared out to her sides. "To our humble home. I am Mistress Jil'Tanith."

He blinked once and it took him a good four seconds to find his tongue. "Th-thank you. Madam."

She closed her eyes a brief moment and shook her head lightly. "You have nothing to fear here Mr. Keysman."

He tried to take some comfort in her words, but for some odd Oh-my-gods-I'm-surrounded-by-monsters-get-me-outta-here reason he couldn't quite manage it.

She placed a claw on her chin and rubbed it. "I understand you are familiar with Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series, Mr. Keysman."

Jack blinked rapidly at her complete non-sequitur. "Wh-what? What? How do you..?" He squinted. "What does that..have to do...with...?"

"Tetra and I have had a conversation about you and your interests Mr. Keysman. To discover a common ground for our negotiations. You know of guest-right and host-right, correct?" She asked.

He blinked one more time, finally catching onto her meaning. "Yeah...what...oh." His eyes raised as her question finally took meaning.

"Here." She waved a hand to her right, indicating the whole crowd of arachne. "We honor those sacred laws of hospitality." She smirked again. "If it helps Mr. Keysman," She waved that clawed hand back toward him. "Think of yourself as Harry Dresden visiting a powerful dignitary's mansion."

Jack reviewed his knowledge of that book series, then folded his arms. "Most of the time he did that, his host was some enemy planning to kill him." He raised his own fingers for air quotes. "'Accidentally'."

She flashed a grin. "But we are not enemies, Mr. Keysman. In fact." She raised a claw. "I'd rather like us to be friends."

His brow furrowed. He tried to read any falseness in her statement. Dinah and Serilla's concerns about war resounded in his mind. "Alright." He intoned noncommittally. "I need something first."

She cocked an eyebrow. "And that is?"

"Let Tetra go." He did his best to not make that sound like a demand. But his heart poured as much loss and longing as it could into his infection.

"I can partially accommodate that Mr. Keysman." Before he could extract an explanation, the mistress snapped two claws. Behind her a portion of her people parted. Some reverse-skittered onto the walls of the cave while others jumped and flung webs to catch onto the stalactites.

Another tunnel, directly across the landing, yawned wide and empty. Then the tick-tick-ticking sound of an arachne in motion on a hard surface echoed into the main chamber.

Someone's head was vaguely visible just inside the other tunnel and Jack squinted to make out the details in the dim light.

"Jack!" The figure exclaimed and then rushed him. He was scooped up and off his feet in an instant.

He almost had enough time to panic at whatever had grabbed him but there was some sort of heated pressure on his lips. He knew the taste of that pressure. He knew that pale face right at his own.

The pressure released and Tetra studied him. "Jack are you okay?"

He gawked at his girlfriend. "Am I okay? You're the one that got taken this time."

"Oh Jack." She leaned forward to let his feet touch the ground again and embraced him. "This is my fault. You shouldn't have needed to come here."

"I had to come for you." He countered. "I'm the one who brought you here. There was no way we could have-." She placed a claw over his lips, silencing him. He blinked and stared into her sad eyes.

She shook her head. "I should have known better than to prowl in an unknown forest. I should have scouted the area before hunting on someone's territory. I was so-" She pressed her lips and closed her eyes. "This is such a mess."

Jack grasped her hands. "It's okay Tetra. We'll work it out. We'll figure out something."

Her shoulders slumped an inch. "You don't understand Jack." She opened her eyes and gazed at him. He'd only seen dread on her face one time before. On the night he nearly died.

"What I did, I can't just undo. The punishment can be severe." She let out a long breath. "And I have no mistress or other authority figure to argue and negotiate for me."

He narrowed his eyes. "You can't explain for yourself?"

She shrugged one shoulder. "I can try. But according to our traditions I have no standing in this community. The mistress I've offended doesn't have to hear me unless she wants to."

Jack scowled. "What kind of tradition is that? You can't be heard unless someone else lawyers for you?"

"An efficient system." Jil'tanith interjected, capturing both their attention. "By requiring a 'lawyer' as you put it, Arachne are deterred from causing trouble for communities they don't belong to."

He maintained his scowl. "Alright." He balled one fist. "What the heck is so wrong about hunting in a place you don't belong to, that you had to," He raised a hand exasperatedly. "Detain her?"

The mistress cocked her head. "Let me ask you a question Mr. Keysman." She proceeded without waiting for a reply. "What if a stranger walked into your house and rummaged through your pantry and sat themselves down at your table to eat whatever they liked?"

Jack blinked once. "Oh." He blinked again. Then waved his arm. "I'd be happy to share..." Blink. "If...they asked..." He lowered his tone and his hand to his side.

The mistress nodded. "You understand. Good." She raised a claw. "We do not tolerate thieves."

At his side, Tetra twitched. Like someone had slapped her. He glanced up at her guilt-laden face.

"Therefore, as mistress of this community" Jil'tanith raised her voice. "I have decided that Tetra's punishment shall b-"

"No!" Jack yelled.

The whole cave gasped. Jil'tanith recoiled, like she'd been slapped. Tetra placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "Jack don't."

He ignored the warning. "No. Serilla said we'd negotiate for her return." He waved an arm at the crowd and tried to find her. "Serilla!"

The small breed from MON skittered forward a couple steps into the edge of the moonlight. "We will Jack." She waved a claw at him. "But we have to let the mistress administer justice in her territory. We can't interfere with that."

He gaped at her incredulously. "This was just a misunderstanding, you said so yourself."

She shook her head. "I'm sorry Jack. The Exchange can't interfere down here. We have an agreement."

Impotent rage wracked his mind. Jack gritted his teeth and balled both fists.

Jil'tanith cleared her throat. "As I was saying, Tetra's punishment-"

"NO!" Jack spun around and shrieked.

This time the crowd grumbled, several arachne advanced into the circle, including a couple large breeds. The mistress raised both her clawed hands and her jaw stuck open, fangs dripping. Her eyes burned inside her skull.

Tetra hunched down and interposed her body between the mistress and her boyfriend. "Jack stop." She pleaded. "You have to let this happen."

He stared into her red eyes. "No. I won't let them hurt you."

Her shoulders slumped and disappointment radiated off her face. "How are you going to stop them?"

Her question sparked that side of his brain that governed logic. It checked the anger and forced his mind to consider his actual situation:

Underground, surrounded by pissed-off monsters.

The color drained from his face. "Oh, shit."

A rueful smile creased her lips. "That temper of yours." She leaned in and hugged him. "I'm sorry Jack. There's nothing you can do."

His rage tried to make a counter argument in his head. But beyond yelling and screaming again, it didn't provide him with a viable solution. His logical mind stepped over his rage and went on calculating survival scenarios.

He stepped back and studied his girlfriend's face. There was an acceptance of the inevitable in her eyes. He breathed out lightly. "There's...nothing?"

She nodded sadly. "I'm sorry Jack."

"Tetra." The mistress addressed with barely restrained malevolence. "If there are no more interruptions..."

She turned around and faced her. "There won't be, mistress."

"Then it is past time." Jil'Tanith composed herself.

Jack went numb. All sensation was lost. His head was subsumed into a fog. He didn't even hear the pronouncement. He saw her mouth move and speak, but he didn't hear the words. He couldn't. He wouldn't.

Tetra rattled right before him. Then she turned back toward him and smiled big, tears flowing down her face.

"Oh Jack isn't it wonderful?" She clasped her hands together.

"H-huh? What happened?"

She engulfed him in a hug. "I've, I've wanted this for so long."

Jack shook himself and refocused. "I, I didn't.."

"Ever since I was a hatchling I've wanted this." Her grip tightened and some of her claws dug into his back.

"Aaahh, Tetra." He didn't quite yelp.

"But mother always made us move." She snarled. "Always had to find some new community that didn't find out her secret. Paranoid, murderous old wretch." She spat. Her claws pressed in just a bit deeper.

"Tetra!"

"Oh." Her grip released. "S-sorry Jack." She side stepped around and inspected him quickly. "I didn't hurt you did I?"

He felt his back and checked for any wet spots. His shirt was pocked but he didn't feel any pain. "I, I don't think so."

She hummed. "I can repair that. If you want."

"Uh maybe later." He replied. "Also, what the hell just happened?" Tetra stepped back and the mistress gave him an odd look. He swallowed and glanced off in no particular direction. "I uh, kinda blanked out. For a moment."

The mistress blinked once then stared at his homestay. "You've had more recent experience with them than I. Are they really this oblivious?"

"I, I don't think so." Tetra side skittered around again and studied his face. "Jack are you alright?"

He frowned. "I'm fine Tetra, I just...I didn't hear what she said." He dipped his head. "What is your punishment?"

She cocked her chin. "I have to join this community."

He recoiled an inch."Oh." He blinked a couple times. "Have to?"

The mistress folded her arms. "That is the compensation I have determined for her transgression." She eyed him narrowly. "I trust this is satisfactory." Her sarcasm was palpable.

All the anxiety of the night drained out at once. He stared ahead blankly. "I...I thought you were going to hurt her."

Jil'Tanith didn't move. Tetra smiled sweetly.

"Please say that again, Mr. Keysman." The mistress requested. "Louder, so that the entire chamber can hear."

Jack closed his eyes and swallowed. Then he stood straight and reopened them confidently. "I thought you were going to hurt Tetra." He announced. "I thought that was going to be your punishment. I'm sorry."

A murmur went through the crowd. Jil'Tanith ever so slightly nodded.

A kindle of a recent memory advanced in his mind and he held up a hand. "No wait...there's more." The murmuring stopped, and the mistress gauged him curiously.

He swallowed and pressed on, convinced he should follow through. "I have been disrespectful and suspicious and ignorant." He folded one leg and knelt before her. "And I beg your forgiveness."

Tetra gasped and raised a hand to her mouth. Jil'Tanith stared blankly for a second before a creeping smirk overtook her face. She glanced over at his girlfriend. "You taught him that, didn't you?"

Tetra lowered her arm to reveal a brilliant smile in full bloom. "Yes. He's a quick learner." She chuckled and casually pointed a claw at his head. "When his temper isn't getting in the way."

He felt chagrined at the accurate assessment but didn't respond. He stared at the arachne before him and waited.

Jil'tanith offered her hand. "Accepted." He grasped it with his own and she helped him stand up. "And given."

This time the crowd clapped. He could just catch agent Serilla blurt: "Oh thank goddess." He spun his gaze slowly at the previously disapproving horde of monsters. There was no disapproval now.

And he knew he was going to be okay. They were going to be okay.

He furrowed his brow as an odd detail struck him. Some of the arachne weren't clapping. They were just standing there. He scrutinized one in particular, a mainline that seemed to have a pure black carapace and medium length violet hair, and approached it.

She didn't react. Some of the clapping spider-women stopped and stepped away from his path, knowing grins pulled at their cheeks.

Jack reached out and lightly brushed his fingers against the arm of the arachne that didn't move. In fact she wasn't moving at all. She wasn't even breathing.

He pushed against the arm and the whole body slid an inch or two across the stone floor. The chitin on her arm felt dead, like plastic. He inspected every detail and made a realization.

"Oh for fu-!" He turned back around and glared at the mistress. "This one's fake!" He declared. Her eyes narrowed and her lips spread wide in a toothless smirk. "What the hell are you making fake ones for!"

"Isn't it obvious." The mistress raised a hand and snapped her claws. The whole congregation, save agent Serilla, retreated back into the dark in the blink of an eye.

Jack quick turned and found that there was absolutely nothing and nobody around him. "What? What the?"

"To hide our numbers, Mr. Keysman." Jil'tanith slowly cantered toward him. "So that you can't report an accurate count to your human authorities."

He faced back to her. "Why would you..?" He blinked a few times in furious thought. "You're...protecting yourself." His indignation at her deception blunted as he worked out the logic. "You are going to let me go, but you don't want me giving away any details that can be used against your people." He took a slow breath. "I understand."

She placed a clawed hand on his shoulder and bent in her forelegs to make her head even with his. "It's nothing personal Mr. Keysman." She closed her eyes briefly. "Please know that we hold you in high honor."

Jack's eyes widened in mild surprise. "You're resilience against hatred and bigotry toward my kind, even after Marian's betrayal gives us hope." She lifted her arm from him. "But we must never be careless. We have been avoiding most of humanity for centuries." She waved a hand. "One scrap of paper isn't going to remove all the reasons for that overnight." Her arm drew back to her chest. "But change is inevitable." She nodded toward him. "Hopefully, we can make it a good change."

Jack nodded lightly a few times. "You said you wanted to be friends. Madam." She tilted her head to the side a bit. "So how about you call me Jack?" He offered his hand.

She smiled and took it with a light shake. "It's a start." Over the next few seconds her eyes wilted and her lips evened to a neutral position

He cocked his head at her demeanor. "Something wrong?" He asked as he let go.

She closed her eyes. "Just reflecting on my past Mr. Keys-Jack." She corrected herself.

He eyed her for a moment. "So...what happens now?"

She stood back up and glanced over to agent Serilla. "Now, we welcome our newest member with an initiation ceremony."

The small breed nodded. "I'll inform the colony and begin preparations mistress." She turned and skittered off into the dark.

Tetra clapped her knuckles together. "Tonight? We can do it tonight?" Jack blinked. His girlfriend sounded almost child-like.

Jil'Tanith nodded. "No time like the present."

He sucked in a little breath. "Oh cool. I wish I'd brought a camera or at least a notepad."

The mistress pivoted back to him. "I'm afraid this is an arachne only event Jack."

His chin dipped, crestfallen. "Oh, um..." He half turned toward the tunnel leading out. "Should I leave or..?"

The mistress lifted a claw. "We perform many ceremonies on the surface, under the light of the moon or stars."

He blinked. "Oh." He cocked his jaw. "So...you want to me to stay down here?" 'By myself' he didn't say.

She closed her eyes and giggled lightly. "You won't be alone. I believe you've already met Valura."

He paused and recalled the large breed from the tunnel. "She's the door guard." He held up a hand. "I'm not sure she likes me."

Jil'tanith snorted. "Trust me Mr. Keysman, if she hated you, you'd be sure." She cantered over to the tunnel exit and flicked up a string. She pulled on it four times. Jack could just make out the rest of the line that probably lead back up to the entrance. The mistress paused a second. Then the line drew taught and pulled back against her fingers four times. "She'll be along to accompany you shortly." She pivoted back to the center of the landing. "Come Tetra, let us pick out your cloak for the evening."

"Um mistress?" A quiet mewl almost squeaked.

All turned to see another member of the colony just clearing into the moonlight.

The first thing Jack noticed was that her fore legs were over twice the size of her back legs. Her 'knees' easily reached the top of her head. Her carapace held three shades of green. Dark forest for her pedipalps and those larger legs. Pale lime for the back four. Her bulbous abdomen and thin arms sported a mossy shade and her skin reminded him of olives. Her six black eyes were arranged like a slightly elongated hexagon. The middle two were placed further apart, just inside her temples. And her pedipalps featured two inward facing claws, like a crab's.

And she moved like a crab. Her larger legs lifted and propelled her sideways and she only needed to turn her head slightly to focus three of her eyes ahead. When she stopped, her back legs seemed to function more like a kickstand than actual legs. Her emerald hair was buzzed at the sides and stood up only a few inches on her crown.

"Whoa. I haven't even heard of an arachne like you before." Jack blurted. He took in every detail he could trying to figure out what her subspecies might be called. She focused one of her side eyes at him but didn't respond.

"Yes Klarravee?" The mistress answered. "What do you want?"

The newcomer glanced down. Her soft voice was barely audible. "Um... If it's not too much trouble I'd like to ask...Mr. Keysman some questions."

Jack tilted his head curiously. The mistress flicked her eyes between them. "You're not going to attend the ceremony?"

Klarravee perked her head back up. "I mean no disrespect to Miss Tetra." Her voice gained a few decibels and she lifted a palm outward. "But I...I really want to talk to Mr. Keysman alone."

Jack reared his head and glanced over. He and Tetra shared an 'I don't know' look and shrug.

The mistress held her stance a moment. "Valura will be his escort, Klarravee."

The crab-like arachne nodded curtly. "That's fine. She's not a gossip."

The mistress chuckled. "Indeed she is not." She waved a clawed hand. "Very well, if Tetra does not insist on your attendance..?" She glanced to her side for a response. Tetra shook her head. "Then I have no objections."

Klarravee bowed lightly. "Thank you mistress. And thank you miss Tetra."

Jil'tanith pivoted back toward the other tunnel. "Come."

"I'll see you later Jack." Tetra waved with a child-like grin.

He waved back and smiled. Confused but relieved at her positive attitude. "I didn't think I'd ever see her well, giddy." He chuckled and dipped his head. "She's been kinda..." He blinked and trailed off.

When he raised his head the other woman was staring at him. It took a moment to realize that she was waiting. "Sorry." He approached and raised his arm. "I'm Jack Keysman."

She raised her own arm after a moment and shook his hand. "Klarravee."

They released and Jack asked. "So what do you want to know?"

She held up a palm and pursed her lips. "If I may Mr. Keysman, can I see it?"

One eyebrow twitched. "See what?"

She hesitated and then barely whispered. "Your scar."

He squinted and attempted to parse out her implicatio- "Oh. You mean." Jack reared his head slightly. "Where I was bit?"

She pressed her lips and nodded. Jack slipped one hand just under his opposite shoulder and slid the collar down his arm. The arachne leaned closer, well inside his personal space.

He swallowed and tried to not react. His eyes widened when her mouth opened and her fangs glistened mere inches from his skin. He gritted his teeth and sucked in a breath. He fought the panic. He fought the need to jerk away.

"It's true." Suddenly she retreated. Her face crumpled in, like she'd eaten a horrible lemon. He stepped back and readjusted his shirt while trying to assess what just happened.

"Um." He murmured cautiously. "Are you alright?"

Her head dipped down. And her body was...shaking.

Jack blinked and reached forward. "Whoa. What...Is something wrong?"

She opened one of her main eyes partly. "Everything is wrong." Then she pivoted and scuttled sideways back into the darkness.

"Wh..?" He stepped forward. "What's going on?" His eyes scanned around. "What was that?"

"Klarravee didn't take the news of your attack well." A familiar contralto echoed in the chamber. Jack spun and recognized the large-breed from the 'door'. "It was bad enough, when it was confirmed that an arachne had taken you." She raised a claw as she approached from the tunnel. "Doubly so when we learned that you were a host." She formed a fist. "To an uninformed observer it might seem that arachne were attacking the Exchange itself."

Jack reared his head and blinked. The large breed stopped a few feet away and stared in the direction that the crab-like one disappeared to. "Then we were informed of Marian's betrayal. She took it the worst."

He stayed still and voiced a theory. "They were... friends?"

Valura closed her eyes and nodded lightly. "Poor girl. She wouldn't accept it. How could she?"

Jack breathed out once. "How close were they?"

She opened her eyes and faced him. "Klarravee almost convinced Marian to join our community here." She waved a claw. "To leave her old colony and invite her host down here."

Jack thought on the brief encounter with Mr. Tucker back at the Exchange security wing. "She really hurt more people than me."

Valura smiled appreciably. "Serilla said you were smart." Then she sighed. "It's like she forgot every reason we were..." Her eyes closed again and she shook her head.

Jack pondered for a minute. "Would...would Jil'tanith have allowed Mr. Tucker down here?"

She faced him again. "I already told you that we allow certain humans that have been determined to be trust-worthy into our home. If Marian had joined, I'm confident the Mistress would have welcomed him gladly."

She raised a claw in his face. "Also, even when you are not addressing her directly, she is still called Mistress or madam."

He swallowed. "S-sorry. I-I'm new down here." He studied the overly large digit inches from his nose. "Uh..noted. Madam...got it."

Valura chuckled softly and grinned. "You're quite compliant for a human." She folded her arms and regarded him. "We always thought that humans were ignorant, arrogant and unruly."

Jack rubbed the back of his head and shrugged a shoulder. "Eh, you're not wrong." She blinked at his acceptance of her assertion. "I'm a history buff." He explained. "We've done some horrible things to ourselves." He sighed. "But not all of us are like that." He raised a finger. "I like to think that people," He furrowed his brow. "Not just humans, are generally good."

She kept her grin. "You really don't blame us for what Marian did." She continued. "Serilla said that you actually try to understand and respect our people."

He nodded soberly. "It's part of my job." He placed a hand on his chest. "I represent humanity to my guests." He waved toward her with the same hand. "And to any extra-species I meet as well."

He snorted and flicked his brow briefly. "And if I'm being totally honest, I've found that respecting extra-species cultures is a kind of survival technique."

She guffawed with a roar and threw back her head. "Hu Hahahaha."

Jack started and stepped back at the sudden reaction.

She held up a hand and placed the other over her face. "Hehehe, forgive me Mr. Keysman." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I just...the irony of it all."

He tilted his head. "Irony?"

She stifled another giggle. "Yes, the irony."

Jack was completely lost. He furrowed his brow and waited. The large-breed took a breath and swallowed to compose herself. "There are what... seven billion humans on the earth currently?"

He focused ahead. "Yes. Approximately."

"And you've developed some of the most sophisticated and destructive weapons ever known yes?"

A hint of where she was going crept at his mind. "Yes."

"And if an enemy provoked humanity, would your people hesitate to unleash your arsenal on them?"

A pause. "Not necessarily." He answered.

She raised a claw. "Therefore, any enemy of humanity should tread very lightly if they want to survive afterwards."

Finally, it dawned on him. "You're terrified of us!"

She nodded soberly. "As a larger and stronger member of my species there is very little I need fear in any sort of singular combat scenario."

Jack nodded at her assessment. "But we employ armies and drones and satellites and all sorts of other technologies to fight our wars." A pause. "You talked about this earlier."

"Yes." She pointed a claw at him. "If you were harmed or goddess forbid, killed down here...There might never be an end to the carnage your people can unleash."

He nodded some more. "Sula said something about that too. Her people are worried that-" He shook a finger, trying to remember. "Something about people convincing a local government to kill her tribe."

She raised a eyebrow. "Sula?"

He rattled his head. "Uh.. " He swallowed. "She's an echidna that's staying with me."

"Ah yes. Serilla has told us about her." The large-breed nodded. "When you return to your home, please convey my colony's thanks to her for us."

He glanced at her curiously. "For what?"

She gazed back expectantly. "For taking you straight to MON and their medical personnel, after you were envenomed."

He blinked. "Oh. Right. Duh." He blinked a couple times. "Why didn't Serilla do that earlier?"

Valura folded her arms again. "She has certain responsibilities. One of which is to not reveal our existence to strangers."

He blinked again. "Oh. Yeah." He nodded in understanding. "But now that I'm down here..."

"Now our little secret is not so secret." She sighed. "Just so you know, you will be blindfolded again when you leave."

Jack frowned. "I kinda hoped we were past that."

She shook her head lightly. "It can't be helped Mr. Keysman." She raised a hand palm up. "We've been betrayed by a member of our own species." She raised a claw. "And there are plenty of stories of mates leading whole human towns on..." Her tone turned ugly and her eyes narrowed. "Monster hunts."

He furrowed his brow. "Mates?"

She eyed him seriously, obviously expecting him to get some sort of- "Oh." His head reared. "Mates. Right." He blinked a couple times. "Wait, really?"

She shrugged. "I have never had the misfortune of being part of a colony that was burned out by the local humans." She leaned forward. "But my great grandmother was."

He sucked in a breath. "Oh gods. I'm so sorry."

A corner of her mouth up-ticked for a brief instant. She held her gaze on him. "Not your fault Mr. Keysman." She leaned her head back. "But I trust that you can understand our need for security."

He shook his head. "I just...I just can't believe it." He dipped his head and stared at the floor. "No...actually I think I can." He breathed out. "Monster hunts. Jesus."

His stomach roiled at the thought of a mob of angry humans chasing after Tetra, Sula, Syleris, Verandys, Kuro. "Godz. That's just..." His knees folded and his head swayed. "I...I need to sit down."

Without any preamble, Valura moved. Jack stepped back in alarm and spun around looking for her. "Uh Valura? What's-" He turned back toward the tunnel.

She was standing there before him. A pair of stools with plastic wheels held in each hand.

"Holy." He exclaimed. "I don't know if I'll ever get used to that."

The large breed smirked and set one stool down and rolled it toward him. The other she placed underneath herself. "Get used to what, Mr. Keysman?" She playfully asked.

He slid his stool behind him and sat. "The way you arachne just..." He jerked one hand to the side. "You're all so freakin' fast."

"I'll take that as a compliment." She chuckled.

"Oh it is definitely meant as a compliment." He assured and placed a hand on his forehead.

"Would you like something to drink as well Mr. Keysman?"

He rubbed his forehead with his fingertips. "Um maybe." He glanced back at her. "How long is this going to take?"

She shrugged. "That's depends. What are you waiting for?"

He answered. "They're initiating Tetra with some ceremony."

She tilted her head and smiled. "Really?" She nodded approvingly. "You passed her test then?"

Jack reared his head and blinked rapidly. "Passed what? A test?"

Her smile morphed into a smirk and she narrowed her eyes. "Oh yes, Mistress said she would test you."

He stared hard. "What...test?"

The large-breed shrugged. "I don't know. I wasn't here to see it." A pause. "But if your Tetra is being initiated into our colony, then she must have approved of you in some way."

Jack's eyes unfocused in thought. "Approved? What did she approve me of?"

Valura raised a claw. "You should ask her that. But I imagine it had something to do with your character and honesty." Jack blinked a couple more times. "You're in love with Tetra, correct?"

He rattled his head and tried to follow her logic. "Uh yeah..." He nodded lightly. "Yeah I, I love her."

She placed that claw on her chin. "Then Mistress was probably testing Tetra as well."

"How...?" He held up a hand. "Wait..." He narrowed his eyes. "Was she testing if we were really in lo-...no that's not it." He held up a finger. "Character and honesty." He mused.

She inclined her head and waited.

"My character and honesty..." A moment. "And Tetra's as well." He glanced back at Valura. "She wouldn't allow an arachne into her colony that was in love with a dishonest human would she?" He held up a finger. "Because that means that she's probably dishonest herself." He concluded.

Valura held up a claw to match his. "Or that Tetra hasn't determined you to be a dishonest human, which would be a major flaw in her judgment of character. A deadly liability for a colony."

Jack slumped on the stool. "Damn. That's...damn." He waved a hand. "You have to procreate with humans males, but you can't trust any shlub off the street." He breathed out sharply. "You have to vet them thoroughly first."

She nodded. "Our survival is a balance of secrecy and trust." She splayed out a hand and tilted her thumb downward. "Too much secrecy and the man might just run away." She pivoted that hand the other direction. "Too much trust and the colony could suffer."

He examined the ground idly. "And you have to treat the Exchange the same way. Agent Serilla is trusted with the location of the colony because she's already a member of the colony."

"She is our liaison." Valura confirmed. "Most issues between the Exchange and us go through her."

He glanced up. "It's always been like that, hasn't it? Before the Exchange. That balance."

She was still for a whole five seconds. "No."

He reared his head. "No? Wha..." He blinked. "Oh."

The large breed took a deep breath. "In our ancient past, we would...take men."

A chill ran down Jack's spine. His abduction ran through his head. He barely put in any energy to speak. "You all did that?"

She glanced away. "Yes."

A hollow point formed in his belly, right below his heart. "good gods."

She closed her eyes and shook her head. "There was nothing good about it."

His breathing picked up. He swallowed and tried to compose himself. "Wh-what happened? What changed?"

She faced him directly. "You, changed."

He blinked. "I don't...understand."

She glanced away again. "At first it was easy. We wouldn't even need traps. You are all so slow and oblivious. Our speed, strength and skills were more than sufficient to pluck a man right out of his cave or hut or wherever."

"Even trained veteran soldiers were no match for us in the dark of a moonless night." She continued. "We'd use our webs to disarm them and tear away any torches for light. Incapacitate the ones we wanted with our venom and carry them back to our dens."

"Soldiers were always the best ones to take." She waved a hand up. "They last the longest."

Jack flinched. "I don't think I need to hear anymore."

She halted her monologue and her eyes widened in horror. "Oh goddess, I'm so stupid." She held both palms out and approached slowly. "Mr. Keysman, I didn't mean to upset you." He stood up suddenly and she froze. His stool screeched as it rolled across the cave floor.

"I..." Jack started. He rattled his head and swallowed. "I think I'll have that drink now." He raised his eyes a degree. "If you wouldn't mind."

She blinked slowly and nodded. "Of course Mr. Keysman." She pivoted and walked away. "If you'll wait here, I'll be back shortly."

Left alone with his thoughts, all Jack could do was relive the worst moments of his life. There weren't many. But they were still there. Clawing at his conscious. Vicious motes of terrible memories yanked at his attention. Drawing him deeper into the inescapable pit of hopeles-

"I hope water is sufficient." He sucked in a breath and looked upward toward Valura's voice. She was rappelling down through a shaft of moonlight. A clear glass delicately suspended in her claws.

She alighted mere feet away and held her hand out. He hesitated a moment and then accepted the beverage.

"Thank you." He sipped and let the cool substance distract him.

"I'm, sorry for upsetting you Mr. Keysman." The large-breed stated. "And for getting in your face earlier. That was... rude."

Jack didn't respond, he took another sip. His previous mindset sloughed away at her apologetic tone.

"I'm not the best at interacting with...non-arachne." She explained. "My talents are not very socially applicable." She shrugged her powerful arms. "Even among my own kind."

After taking another moment to sip he examined her critically. "You make a very good door warden." He observed.

She smirked lightly and folded her arms. "I do."

He shook his head slowly and mused to himself. "This has been...A lot more of a night than I thought it would be."

She tapped a claw on her arm. "Night's not over yet."

He took a big gulp. "I'm not sure I could handle much more."

"You survived Marian's betrayal." She countered while tapping her claw at a steady beat.

He took another big gulp and finished the drink. "I barely did anything that night. The girls and MON and Professor Holden saved me."

"Arachne don't fall in love with weak men, Mr. Keysman." She expounded her point. "Something about you captured Tetra's interest." Her rhythm sped up a pace."Some strength of will inside you." She inclined her head. "Mistress must have picked up on that."

Jack scrutinized her. "'Strength of will'? That matters against an arachne?"

"Against? Not at all." She stopped tapping and shrugged. "To one of us though," She leaned forward. "It can mean everything." She stepped up "You really think you can be a host to an arachne and not have at least a little spine?" Two more steps. "You think you can be down here, surrounded by monsters and not scream yourself insane with fear unless you have the mental fortitude to handle it?"

He dipped his head down. "I..I was scared."

"Are you scared now?"

Jack stared ahead a couple seconds and evaluated her question. Then he looked back up at the single most dangerous creature he had every met. "No. I mean... a little but...not like I was before."

She smirked and leaned back. "See? You're taking a liking to me already."

He rattled his head. "Wh-what? A liking?"

Her smirk cracked a little more. "Oh yes, A couple more conversations with you, and I won't even need to snatch you out of Tetra's web." Her massive grin filled his vision. "You'll follow me down to the mating chambers all on your own."

Jack recoiled. "WHAT! What the hell are you-" He blinked rapidly and raised his hands. "N-No I would never- not with – I mean, I love her and I couldn't, I wouldn't-"

The large breed giggled. Pure malicious amusement spilled out of her mouth. He narrowed his eyes. "You...you were just teasing me."

She giggled some more. "Teasing, testing, either way you didn't disappoint."

Jack just glared back. "What test?"

She pointed a claw at him. "You alluded to it earlier. A test to see if you really were in love with Tetra." He held his annoyed expression. "And you passed, congratulations."

Jack blinked slowly once. "Sula is right." Valura tilted her head curiously. "Arachne have the biggest egos on the planet."

She giggled and pointed her claw at him again. "There, there's that mettle, that fortitude and wit that drives us arachne crazy." She hunched down and spread the tips of her legs outward, lowering her head to be even with his. "You're a rare combination Mr. Keysman. Smart enough not to insult me directly, but assertive enough not to take my crap lying down."

Jack stood silent in response.

"And as a host..." Her grin gave way to a genuine smile. "You've shown her kindness that few arachne have ever seen from humans that weren't already our mates."

His annoyance softened a degree as her tone lightened.

"I have to say, I'm rather jealous of Tetra." She winked three eyes. "You ever get tired of her, go wandering around our forest some night, I'll show you a good time."

Jack folded his arms. "Well, I know which forest to avoid..." Her eyes sparkled with her smile. "So I rather doubt that'll happen."

She stood back to her full height. "You say that now...Mr. Keysman."

He rolled his eyes. "Godz you arachne are annoying."

She chuckled. "Still scared Mr. Keysman?"

Jack shook his head and pressed his lips in. "Nope. Nope. Annoyed. Just annoyed now." A yawn escaped from him and he turned away. "Damn. And tired."

She waved a hand toward him. "I can weave a simple hammock if you'd like Mr. Keysman."

The thought of taking a nap surrounded by monsters he didn't know drove a spike of sobering fear back in. "I-I can't."

She studied him a moment. "I suppose that is asking more trust from you than has been earned."

He shook his head. "It's not that. Not entirely."

Valura leaned closer, curious.

Jack sighed and glanced away. "I...get nightmares. When I sleep near extra-species."

She blinked twice. "How bad?"

He swallowed. "Pretty bad...but they got worse...after...after she..."

Her eyebrows furrowed in. "After Marian took you." She deduced. Her claws clenched into fists. "Yet more damage that idiot should answer for." The scowl on her face drove that spike of fear deeper.

Her scowl suddenly morphed into skepticism. "Wait a minute. You're a host. And you have nightmares from your homestays?"

"I've.. well we, found a solution or two." He answered. "It's not much of an issue these days."

Her skepticism lingered for a few moments, then she darted her eyes up. "Ah, they've finished."

Jack glanced up as well.

Rappelling on threads all over the cave ceiling, the whole colony descended to the floor. The shafts of moonlight glinted off their claws and carapaces, a twinkling tapestry of multi-colored predators alighting to the ground.

It was beautiful and unnerving, until he spotted Tetra.

She was just as lithe and voluptuous as ever, but she was clad in a thin gray cloak with a large hood. Embroidered with black and white symbols he didn't recognize, it wrapped around her arms and even over her legs and abdomen.

She spotted him and dropped faster. The cloak flared out as she landed right by her boyfriend.

"Oh Jack, isn't it wonderful?" She exclaimed and pivoted in a circle.

"Uh yeah." He replied. "Um, what is it?"

She halted and gazed at him incredulously. "This is-"She blinked. "Oh of course, you don't know." Jack shook his head slowly.

"This is one of our ceremonial garb." Mistress Jil'Tanith informed as she alighted beside Tetra. "This particular piece is woven with thread from every member of the colony."

"Really?" He scrutinized it intently. "I suppose that has a strong symbolic meaning?"

The mistress nodded. "Indeed. Just as we use our threads to clothe ourselves and to hunt, this colony protects and nourishes itself. Every member contributes to each others continued survival and safety."

She placed a hand on Tetra's shoulder. "And now that protection and responsibility extends to our newest member."

Jack had seen Tetra cry on maybe one or two other occasions. This time though, she had a big dumb smile on her face. He couldn't help but chuckle at it. He held the back of his hand to his mouth. "I'm sorry, I just...I've never seen her this happy before."

The mistress waved a hand. "That is quite alright Jack. Tonight is meant for celebration. Would you care to join us?"

He blinked a couple times. "Join you for what?"

"For the party!" Tetra blurted.

"Oh uh." He nodded. "A party sounds good." He dropped his arm. "I mean, it's not like I can go anywhere."

Jil'Tanith jerked her head. "You are free to leave anytime you want. An escort back to your vehicle is trivial to arrange."

Jack inclined his head. "I'm not going back without Tetra."

"Such devotion." She smiled and glanced over at the other arachne. "He really does love you."

Tetra scooped him up in a big hug in response. "Yes. He's the best host ever." She kissed him.

"I try." Jack quipped as she set him back down. "This is gonna be an all-night affair, isn't it? I really need to let my other homestays know what's going on."

The mistress snapped two claws. "Serilla!" The MON agent scrambled in from the crowd and presented herself. "You will inform the Exchange and all pertinent parties what has transpired tonight. Mr. Keysman remains under our protection so long as he is considered a guest."

The agent gave a curt bow. "At once mistress." She turned to Tetra with a smile. "Congratulations." Then she pivoted back toward the human. "We did it Jack. This went even better than I was hoping for. I'll take care of everything the Exchange and your household needs to know."

He nodded at her. "Thank you Agent Serilla." She gave a wave, and then sprinted passed him toward a thread that attached to the ceiling. She leaped onto it and climbed upward all the way. She slipped through a shadow and disappeared.

"Gods I wish I could do that." He muttered and waved a hand. "Just...ffft and gone."

"We wish we were the dominant species on the planet." Mistress Jil'Tanith countered. "Then we wouldn't have to be so nice to all you humans."

Jack turned back to her and raised a finger to fire back...but no good arguments came to mind. "Yeah, good point." He lowered his arm. "Can't always get what you want."

"But if you try sometimes..." The mistress trilled. "You get what you need."

He snorted in mild amusement. "You know Rolling Stones?"

She smirked. "I am an American, technically."

Jack chuckled at that. "Yeah, I suppose you are." He gazed around the whole cave. "Everyone born er...hatched here, is technically an American. I think."

Tetra raised a claw. "Am I an American now?"

He spun back to her. "That's... a good question." He suddenly yawned and failed to stifle it with a palm over his mouth. "Oh man. Sorry." He shook his head. "That, we'll have to look into that, tomorrow." He furrowed his brow. "Or is it already tomorrow?"

"It is a quarter past midnight, Jack." The mistress informed.

"Alright." His eyes fluttered. "I'll try to stay up for this party."

"Mistress?" Tetra asked. "May we delay?"

Jil'Tanith nodded. "It is your initiation celebration. You may have it whenever you want."

She nodded gratefully. "Thank you Mistress."

"But," Jil'Tanith raised a claw. "I will strongly suggest that you two have your own private commemoration." Tetra and Jack glanced at each other, then back at the mistress. "Dinah!" She called.

The arachne with two stripes on her abdomen skittered into their presence. "Yes, Mistress?"

"Please guide our guest and Tetra to the seventh level."

Dinah produced a knowing smirk. "Not to the ninth level mistress?"

Jil'Tanith cocked an eyebrow. "Perhaps another night." She waved toward Jack and Tetra. "The seventh level please."

Dinah nodded. "If you'll follow me." She turned and skittered off into the dark.

Jack slumped in place. "Ninth level? How deep is this place?" The mistress just offered an enigmatic smile. He narrowed his eyes a degree. "Oh, yeah." He swallowed. "That's more info I can't report if I don't know it."

She chuckled in her throat. "Thank you for understanding, Jack."

He sighed and plodded forward. "Yeah, yeah." He waved off dismissively.

He walked to the entrance of the other tunnel and halted. There was no light and he couldn't tell if any bioluminescent fungi were present. "Uhhh..."

"How about I carry you Jack?" Tetra offered.

He turned and rubbed the back of his thumb on his forehead. "Yeah sure. Please Tetra." She scooped him up in one complete motion and cantered down the tunnel.

Despite the pitch blackness and utter lack of any familiarity with his surroundings, he couldn't have felt safer. He even allowed himself to shut his eyelids. There wasn't anything he could see anyways.

"Jack? I think we're here."

He sucked in a breath and snapped his eyes up.

The first thing he noticed was the entire room was bathed in two colors. The right half glowed violet from a series of wall-mounted candles set inside tinted glass. A wide and shallow chandelier bolted to the rock ceiling, sported half of it's firelights in the same hue. The other half of the room and chandelier featured a cool blue that reminded him of Kuro's eyes.

The bi-colored candles illuminated a king sized bed with a thick black blanket and pillows. Four squat wooden posts set on a square of thin carpet only rose to just above knee height. They anchored the mattress to the frame. The half-circle headboard was carved with sharply angled calligraphy.

A ,at first glance, seemingly out of place modern nightstand held two drawers just off from the left side.

"Oh." He stated. "This is moody."

"Indeed." Dinah agreed just to his right. "Welcome to one of our mating chambers."

Jack blinked once as Tetra set his legs down. "Mating? That's what she meant?"

Dinah nodded with a quick grin. "Have fun you two." She pivoted away.

He rose a hand in alarm. "W-wait no, we can't. The Exchange-"

"Doesn't exist down here." She cut in without looking back. "They agreed to not interfere in our affairs so long as we don't make trouble." Her grin shined as she faced back. "This our home." A slight head tilt indicated that statement included his girlfriend. "Their laws don't apply here."

Jack's arm lowered by his side. He had no response. The smaller arachne slipped out through a large wooden door and closed it. Leaving host and guest to their fate.

"Jack?"

Tetra's probe was barely acknowledged.

He stood and stared ahead. "...this really happening?"

Tetra reached out and almost tapped his shoulder. "Jack?"

The man stepped away. He seemed to be in a daze. He stopped at the foot of the bed.

"...isn't how I pictured it. Not...not yet..."

The confirmation that he'd planned something for their first night brought a smile to her lips. "Jack. Please."

His head darted up and he faced back to her. Tetra shed her robe and slipped her hands under her shirt and lifted it off.

He sucked in a short breath.

Her claws undid the buckle around her waist. A simple shimmying motion and the skirt sloughed off her pedipalps. He swallowed and unconsciously adjusted his pants.

"Jack?" Her tone was just shy of sultry, but still a question.

"I-I.." He swallowed. "I'm not ready. This isn't...how I pictured it."

She smiled lightly and approached slowly. "I wasn't expecting this either. Jack." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "And if you really don't want this, then say so."

He swallowed and stared into her eyes.

"You know I'll honor my word Jack." She lowered her head to be even with his. "You say 'no' and that will be all."

His breathing picked up a pace, but his lips didn't move.

She placed the back of her other hand on his cheek. "But if you don't take those pants off in the next five seconds..." Her tone dipped into command territory and the tips of her claws slid down the side of his face to just under the jaw. "I'm going to rip them off..." Her fingers pressed in with the barest force. "And I'll make you walk into the house without them when we go back."

Jack swallowed and kept his chin up. "Y-Yes Mistress." He unbuckled and unzipped his jeans.

She grinned maliciously and narrowed her eyes. "Good boy." She pulled back both hands. "But I'm not your mistress tonight Jack."

He was half stooped over with his belt around his shins when he halted a moment. "You're not?"

She closed her eyes and shook her head. "No Jack. Tonight..." He straightened up and kicked off his shoes. "Tonight, I'm something different."

He squinted while lifting his shirt off and dropping it at the side. "What are you?"

Her eyes flashed open. Both arms thrust forward and she shoved him onto the bed and she mounted him in a flash.

"Guhff!" Jack grunted. Her pedipalps clamped around his thighs and she loomed over him. The headboard gave a slight creak at the shift in weight.

"Tonight Jack..." She adjusted his boxers with one hand and held his chest with the other. "Tonight I'm your mate." She leaned down and kissed him. "And I-" She panted and set her hips over his waist. He gasped in exhilaration.

"Am going-" Her legs swayed in unison and propelled her whole body in a synchronous rotational motion. Their bare torsos slid against each other. She thread her claws through his fingers and pinned his arms back into the pillows.

"To fuck your brains out!"

A/N: Finally! Am I right?

Damn this was a big chapter.

Apologies for the long delay. This year...has been a year...and then some.

So the last entry of 2020 definitely needed a happy ending.

For anyone confused about the Star Wars discussion, I am keeping the time period at summer 2017 when I began writing the first chapter.