Ch. 19: Miscalculation
Oh boy, how to fix this? The curtains in the attic blocked the view of the sun rising on the horizon, but her fleshy hand activated the warning bells in her brain. He stood before her all gangly limbs and slobbering mandibles.
"Stop! Sto-op. Okay, calm down bud. I'm, I'm sure you'll gain control over it soon, just stop opening your mouth so much. It's kinda gross." She splayed her hands out and clicked her mouth shut a few times to convey the message. He put his claws on her face, bringing it closer to his. She demonstrated one more time before he looked down to his own mouth in concentration. It took a few tried before his mandibles were unlatched from his fangs and he could stop the flow of saliva from hitting the floor. Serena smiled gently at the progress. He copied the movement, looking more goofy than menacing with his sharp teeth.
"Now, what to do about these…" She looked around her friend to watch his other arms that moved at odd positions. It was like they all had different minds. The two center ones still held her face softly, almost afraid of letting go. The pair above those were picking at the ceiling lanterns so they wouldn't shine directly on top of them. As for the bottom arms, they just clawed at each other like it was some sort of weird game. Her friend looked down at the troublesome limbs and hissed. "I know, I know. Shhh.. Your body's just trying to adjust to the change, I think. You'll adapt like I did," she stepped back with her arms spread out to show him. He switched back and forth from looking at himself to her and huffed.
Serena scrunched her face as she looked thoughtfully at the curtains, "Maybe…" With deliberate slow steps she approached the window and nodded her head back at her friend. He just watched, not picking up her intention. She threw back the material, the sun's golden rays drowning the room in brightness. The arachnoid hissed and shrieked as he backed away from the light. His arms wrapped themselves around his face and he curled up into a ball on the floor. Serena pulled the curtain back into place, leaving a sliver to better illuminate the room. She approached her friend slowly, examining his shape. He had a marble pattern on his back that looked like a battle between blue and red. The colors didn't compliment one another, but it was curiously beautiful. His whole frame was more broad and thicker than her own, his face less angular and more round. He also had a frizzy patch of orange hair that decorated the top of his head that remained mysteriously upright. All in all, he was positively adorable.
Serena rubbed the center of his back in a soothing manner, thinking. You're not going to become human are you? Behind them, the glass case was alive with excited noise. The blue spiders were clicking and trying to crawl out of the space. The arachnoid slowly rose to stand over his friends, scooping them up in his arms in a gentle embrace. He looked down at them and pouted, before turning that gaze to Serena. She watched shamefully, noting the grief in his eyes. The little spiders were still, then attempted to climb down their big friend to explore the room. Serena ran to them, picking them up and trying to put them back in the case but was stopped by large talons. He huffed in her face, grunting his displeasure, and snatched them from her arms.
"They'll try to leave. It's too dangerous out there for them, they'll certainly get lost or worse," she tried pointing back and forth from the window to the spiders. She showed her fear in the desperate tone of her voice and the tears in her wide eyes.
He pouted again, debating with himself. HIs face became a battlefield of expressions, defeat being the reigning winner. He looked at his friends apologetically, before putting them back in their prison. They began clicking again and were silenced by his loud shriek. There was a short stare between him and them before the little blue ones backed off in obedience. A few still stayed by the edge to stare at their leader, longing to be close to what gave them strength. He forced himself to turn away and crawl back to his spot next to Serena. He sat there, rolling the partly broken vile in the palm of his hand, an idea slowly blooming in his mind. His friend quickly picked up on it before spring arrived.
She shook her head pleadingly, "No, absolutely not," she grabbed the vile from his hand, "This, no! No more! Not using this anymore! Bad!" She sent the empty vile flying out the window in demonstration. Her friend looked defiantly at her, pointing at himself and her as if that proved anything. "Yeah, it worked for us, but look again. Me," she indicated herself, "You," pointed at him, "Are different. I am like them," she pointed outside, "You are more like them, " she indicated their friends, "But they are not like anything else. You all can't just go out there with the animals like me, because they will hurt you! We don't belong out there! Or anywhere, but with each other!" Her voice grew hoarse with the shouting, and tears stained her frowning face. She vigorously wiped her face as her friend searched the room for what he remembered was a tissue. He grabbed a piece of paper and presented it to her, when she just stared quietly, he motioned wiping on his face and handed her the paper. She smiled despite herself. As she brought the paper up, she noticed that her friend had actually grabbed one of the maps that hung on the walls. It was something she learned that the humans used when they got lost, which happened a lot if they were traveling far from home…Wait.
We do have someone like us. And he lives freely among them.
She turned to her friend, "Get the others ready. We're leaving."