A group of Zimbabwe poachers grow bored of the Earth animals they've trapped for years and go for bigger, stronger targets like Transformers, but they aren't the only hunters in the area.
Dakarai, Tariro, and Ammara scouted the dense jungles of the Zimbabwe region, isolated from constant monitoring of wildlife conservationists and police. Picking their shots wisely, they got a black rhinoceros, two lions, and a plains zebra within the hour. With dwindling animals spreading out and leaving the area in fear, they high fived one another at their bounty, another successful poaching operation.
Ammara laughed, "I got the lions, boys, what do you have again?"
Tariro cursed playfully and waved her off at her bragging. She continued to laugh as she tossed the hide of the lion into the Jeep. Dakarai replied, "Yes, but I have the most money. Rhinoceros hide goes more than lions."
"Don't forget my zebra," Tariro said, patting his bare chest in fake upset.
The three snickered before jumping into their Jeep and taking the backroads out of sight back to their private hideout. With a truck in waiting and some more of their crew getting the week's hunts loaded, including a Junkion trader and a Velocitronian gun runner in the same business as them, the truck driver was given clear instructions to take the cargo to the northern airport and use as many discreet paths as possible. As Dakarai unloaded their prey, the truck left with no issue. He told the crew still outside to prepare his load for skinning and valuable part removal. He aimed to make a lion into a taxidermy specimen.
Ammara went to their tent and parked it on her chair as Tariro followed to hang out with her. Dakarai followed suit with a laugh, "You're exhausted already? What is this?"
"This is my time, that's what this is."
Tariro poked fun at her. "She's just moody."
He was swatted quickly with chakla she had by her bedside. The man was more confused than anything.
Dakarai took a lion's tooth and was making it into a necklace when he asked, "What are we going to hunt tomorrow? Some clients want another zebra, alive this time, and others want the same old ivory from the elephants. By try finding an elephant with no painted tusks now. No good in value."
Ammara shrugged, "We've been able to bypass the issue before..."
"Yes, but for how long? Doesn't this seem like the same old routine?"
Tariro grunted, "Same old routine makes us money. Where would the issue be in that? Don't tell me you want to try and go after something else. Too risky."
"Then maybe it's worth it. Imagine how much people would pay for something rare like maybe a Cybertronian," Dakarai said with a smile. He rubbed his fingers on a hand, "And how much would they pay for the Minicons, the Predacons, and Dinobots, yeah?"
The other two looked at him strangely before Ammara asked, "That would be risky."
Tariro countered, "But worth it indeed. Animals are one thing; hunting robots is a whole different specialty. We could be richer than ever."
The three slowly began to agree with one another. It was a long shot of how they were going to get started, but every job had its risks. What difference would it be between animals and cybernetic beings? Metal against bone? Metal was arguably more valuable for military use as natural armor could withstand most human weaponry. And who wouldn't want a Dinobot or Predacon head mounted on their wall?
Dakarai bit his lip in thought, "And we would be the best hunters in the world perfecting it. Who else could say they could do it?"
Ammara and Tariro each nodded and laughed as they began planning.
The following week, they bought the most powerful non-classified weapons money could get them that could damage a Transformer if not outright kill one. A supplier in Japan sent them a shipment in a private cargo plane, and they marveled at their new stock upon opening the crates. High-heated sabot rounds compressed into magnified, Cybertronian-grade bullets with the same power and explosive punch as the old human-made variants.
They put together their weapons and attached the ammo belt that came with each before going out and testing them. There was a Cyber-cattle roaming sanctuary near Mount Darwin. With a few other cybernetic animals also within the perimeter of the government-protected property, they picked their targets the same as last time.
Dakarai aimed for the massive cybernetic bovine with a nice pair of horns and yellow optics, cable-like tail occasionally moving. The compressed sabot round was fired when he saw his shot. The bull's chest and part of its neck ruptured as Energon poured out. It stumbled with a broken voice box and collapsed with its optics flickering to black. The spark was destroyed, and Dakarai laughed as he kissed his gun happily.
"Doesn't that beat all? Hahaha, we're in business now!"
The only downside was how loud it was. After firing on the bovine, they thought they heard distant vehicles. Utilizing their Junkion friend's truck mode, they hauled the dead beast away before any nearby sanctuary operatives could find them.
Using what their Transformer friends knew about Cyber-cattle parts who cared little about their plan or the future deaths of similar species, the most valuable part of Cyber-cattle were the gong-like chest kibble that acted like a natural bell to ward off predators...that they accidentally ruptured by killing the creature. The other parts worth some money were the horns naturally, the undamaged armor of the backside and top limbs as they predicted, and surprisingly the optics that could be used for transplants. Unlike Earth creatures, some parts like optics were universal as long as the size of the organs were the same.
They split the Cyber-cow into pieces and prepared to ship it to the first buyers. Sure enough, they got multiple buyers within the first hour. Cybernetic parts sold even more than organic due to most people having the inability to kill such creatures. Sabot guns mixed with Cybertronian grade metal-piercing slugs were not a common weapon nor were they available for everyone. Only armory experts and specific branches were able to obtain them usually. They just knew the right people and with the weapons in their possession, they could make an even bigger fortune.
They started small not to draw attention to themselves. Dakarai aimed for a hira hyena native to Junkion roaming the savanna with its organic counterparts. The creature laughed with animalistic warning prior to him lining up the shot. It stopped laughing soon enough while the spotted hyenas it was with scattered unsure. He tagged and bagged a decent sum with it.
Ammara managed to track down a monogoliath, a massive cybernetic Mammoth with rigid armor and tusks that split in patterns like jagged branches. Herds of African elephants merged with the massive monogoliaths, and she aimed for a titan most impressive. The matriarch of the monogoliaths was a huge monster, and it seemed to not mind its offspring among organic counterparts that showed little worry about the differences. In their minds, they thought they were the same thing. And she treated it exactly as just another large target. The gun pierced through its optics on the first shoot and the second blew up his processor, leaving the monster to fall sluggishly onto its back knees and tipping to its side dying.
Tariro aimed a little bigger in the food chain. He spotted a rare Gemenite Minicon on the border of Zimbabwe and Botswana, a Camien breed with unique gem-like growths within its spark chamber that radiated energy. The gems were valued at a huge 20 million per karat payday, and there was rumored to be hundreds of gems that could grow among the body, each a pound in weight and over two inches in length. The Minicon was elusive and less than a hundred existed on Earth. Billionaires would pay a fortune to have the gems in their possession. That was his mark.
He aimed for the head as its chest was the most valuable part of it. As he was preparing to pull the trigger, the Gemenite Minicon suddenly grew still and looked up frantically behind it away from Tariro's position. At first, the poacher didn't care and was about to fire when the Minicon hissed at something near the denser section of jungle. He paused as a shadow of a sharp point with a hint of gold twitched as it raised up. Whatever it was attached to was bigger than the Minicon, and Tariro didn't want to accidentally shoot what he didn't know.
The Gemenite Minicon hissed, making its spine rattle and claws appear ready to defend itself. Tariro saw more of the shadow's outline…and saw four red optics slowly fade into being along with other bio lights. He saw the shadow's claws and true height as it stalked closer with an animalistic, guttural clicking akin to a snarl. The appendage he had seen previous to the true form was a part of a quadruplet as three other sharp points with joints shivered on its back with anticipation while its servos and arms kept bent ready to strike. It was hunched over slightly in its predatory stance. The closer it got, the more the human saw its colors of black, purple, and gold by the shredded light coming through.
The Minicon made itself intimidating. It proved a waste. A sudden swipe of one of the pointed back limbs of the creature impaled and launched the Minicon against the tree that partially broke into pieces; it died on impact with its spark chamber and most of its internal organs crushed by how fast it hit the trunk. The abrupt ending to the encounter was not what Tariro expected, and he lowered his weapon in disbelief once the larger Transformer came into view.
A femme with four spider-like gold-tipped legs on her back and gold details across her black and purple armor hissed in warning stomping towards the body to the Minicon to make sure it was dead. The four red optics narrowed in sync as she growled nudging the annoyance. The rounded panels connected to her lower spine that could form her spider mode's abdomen flashed its deadly black widow symbol with the movement in the light. With it deemed deceased, the femme snorted and stomped on the remains of the Minicon as she walked off, disregarding the gems as they held no value to her and crushing the leftover armor carelessly. Tariro watched this monster stalk by back into the jungle, her bio lights forced into stealth mode once again as she welcomed being in the darkness she could hide in.
He was stunned by the clash of creatures but arguably, the encounter left him without having to waste a bullet. He waited for a good minute before going out to inspect the body to make sure she was gone. Grimacing at the carnage, the spider leg she used to swat the Minicon like a fly went through the spark in seconds and had ripped upward upon launching it. It was then reevaluated that the Minicon had died even before impact. The speed in which the femme struck was evidence of a well-practiced hunter. The only thing that threw him off the most was she didn't do anything with her prey. She just left the body to rot. Granted, the Minicon showed aggression and chances were she reacted angrily more than out of hunger.
He was spared from having nothing to bring back as the gems were in broken clusters but still could be sold. He collected as many of them as he could dig from the corpse. Once he had his treasure, he booked out of the area in case that monster returned.
Tariro brought out his phone once the curiosity got the better of him and decided to do a little research. Not every Transformer was known but many were in a collective database provided by their allied worlds. He searched if the femme was recognizable and sure enough, the search ended with a name: Blackarachnia. What worried him was her unique ability of power-stealing through paralysis. While it had no effect on humans, as far as anyone knew, it was devastating to the unlucky victims in her sights. Other known abilities were documented but mostly had to do with venom…but none of them mentioned being able to conceal her natural luminance. An interesting prey to hunt, and the venom of a Transformer was worth a lot.
Tariro drove back to camp with his spoils, meeting up with Ammara and Dakarai who were figuring out how to dismantle their cybernetic animals to ship. He plopped the bag of gems down on the table and laughed, "You would not believe my luck. A Transformer they call Blackarachnia did the hunting for me. Save a bullet for another day, yeah?"
Ammara stopped sawing through the base of the monogoliath's tusks when she heard the name. Frowning, she asked, "Black-arachnia?"
Dakarai was confused. "A black…spider?"
"A Transformer. A female," he replied. "She killed the other and left them dead, left the gems and we are now rich."
The other two weren't as sure if the logic was a good thing. They simply let it be and returned to cutting up their spoils. By the time they got everything the way they wanted, Tariro had a crazy idea.
"Do you know how valuable the spider's venom would be? How much her limbs and parts could sell as?"
"Don't tell me you are going to go after her. That's a bad idea," Ammara said.
"How is it bad?"
"When there's a dangerous animal, you need to assess what needs to be done to trap it. A Transformer isn't the same as an animal, especially one as deadly as this Blackarachnia as you described."
Tariro huffed, "We can do it, no problem."
Dakarai raised a brow before gesturing out into the wild. "And when do you want to try and do this? It's nearly dark."
"Tomorrow, we hunt in the morning. She should be asleep by then."
The others didn't seem to be completely sure, but Tariro knew they recognized the value of a rare arachnid class Transformer. The venom alone was worth millions. They reluctantly agreed and staged their bounties in secure boxes for shipping before heading in for the night.
The next morning, all three of them got their weapons out, capable of destroying the armor. All they needed really was venom, but extra parts of the spider femme would be valuable just the same. Their Junkion friend, Roughtire, came along to ensure there was plenty of backup just in case.
They walked the African jungle away from known villages knowing Blackarachnia was solitary by how she ended the Gemenite Minicon. The further in they went, the darker the shadows were despite the light of the canopies raining down. It was an ideal place for a spider. Looking for evidence like tracks or recent prey, they carefully examined every tree they passed for any peculiar markings until they stumbled upon webbing remnants.
Unlike organic spider webs, Transformer webs were refined with a malleable metal putty-like material that could withstand strong forces and appeared with transparent crystals to make them glisten beautifully. While pretty indeed, it was also a sign their target had attacked something as Energon was also spotted vaguely on the edges of the web pieces dangling. Dakarai and the others cocked their weapons now on high alert.
Tariro gripped his gun hard as the jungle ambiance made it a little suspicious. Everything seemed to be more distant than normal. They listened for any movement. For a creature as large as an alien spider, one would assume she would make some type of noise before even getting close to them.
"Something doesn't seem right," Ammara muttered.
"No? I kind of figured," remarked Tariro.
"Shut up, both of you," their leader hissed.
A faint clicking, insectoid almost, resonated across the jungle in multiple directions. Even Roughtire was uncertain and cowered instinctively. It surprised them for sure as they all peered in separate directions. Tariro felt eyes on him, not Dakarai's, not Ammara's...the slow sound of something unsticking and the hissing of lights suddenly made him jerk around and saw a giant spider coming down hovering just above Ammara with eight red optics and open, twitching chelicerae.
"AMMARA!"
Ammara screamed when the fangs of the spider snagged her rapidly. They all heard them piercing into her body and crushing bone. Everyone panicked as the black and purple spider retreated up into the canopy quickly as they shot upward. The explosives destroyed tree branches that came down nearly on top of them, but Blackarachnia proved scarily quick. They lost her just as fast.
Ammara's gun was left behind which Dakarai grabbed and sprinted opposite where they believed the spider went. Roughtire and Tariro were equally frightened when they heard a darker growl somewhere behind them. They ran as far as their camp realizing just how much of a mistake they had made. As Roughtire hid, Dakarai threw Ammara's weapon in the passenger seat of an immobile regular vehicle.
"What the hell was that?!"
Tariro was scared and irate at the same time. "What do you mean?"
"What was that?!" Dakarai yelled. "That's the female you saw?! That's a monster! You failed to warn us of that and now, Ammara's gone because of you!"
The other man was still trying to process how fast everything went downhill that he could only stutter, "It-It-It wasn't my fault. I thought..."
"You thought wrong! This is, oh by the gods, this is a disaster!"
"We can still get the money!"
Dakarai paused and gestured out into the dense jungle suddenly upset. "Damn with the money! Ammara? Our sister in arms! We are supposed to look out for each other!"
"I tried! I-"
Both the Junkion and the Velocitronian near them grew alarmed before the two men heard the cracking of brush but no movement in the visible dark underlay of the jungle. The other people at the camp fled backwards yelling among themselves, but Dakarai and Tariro were too focused on the origin of the noise. They both cocked their weapons and stood their ground. Then they spotted her.
The dark silhouette hidden among the foliage slowly had her bio lights and eyes turning on. The baffling ability to hide her lighting made them stare uneasily as she stomped out into the open. Her back straightened as her four spider limbs coming up from her backside flickered irritably. While her robot mode held some beauty, the fangs she carried as well as the narrowed, annoyed four optics she had were unnerving. Snarling, the predatory beast showed off hints of blood among said fangs, red like a human's.
In anger, Tariro let out a scream and aimed the gun. Blackarachnia responded with a roar and charged wicked fast. When he fired the next round of the explosive, she dodged it by shifting to the side but still went full sprint towards them. Dakarai nearly dragged his partner away leaving Roughtire to fight the femme.
They peered back horrified to see the mech caught by the neck and the spider limb tips glowing as they sank into the neck cabling. Like energy draining, whisps of blue coiled around the limbs and vanished towards her. Once she took what she wanted, a sudden snap of his neck had her throw his chassis towards the fleeing humans. They barely saw her left arm shift to support a grapple and gun set, Roughtire's weapons for capturing or killing animals. When she aimed at them amused, they all but panicked.
A blast nearly tripped up Tariro as they ran to the other side of the camp, but Dakarai supported him to keep on his feet. The grapple missed but snagged the vehicle they passed which she then lobbed back. They happened to slow down before the bouncing truck could crush them, fleeing around it. They refused to stop as more screams were heard from men uselessly firing regular bullets at 25-foot femme. Sliding behind a truck, they reloaded with sweat running down their faces. They opted to get into it but they already heard she was very close. Exposing themselves now would just lead to capture and death.
Some of the screams subsided but were masked by explosions and the dark cackle of the femme. Then they heard her voice.
"Little vermin," she growled.
Dakarai panted and heard one man not far from them begging for mercy. Both men pressed against the truck not ushering a word when their associate fell backwards into view near a tent. They slowly turned their heads at the man scrambling back like whimpering animal. He held up one hand as if it would guard him from the shadow looming over him.
Abruptly, one of the spider legs shot straight down and impaled his skull. She dragged the body stuck on her sharp point and made it move face to face with her before she made a second impale him and tore him in half, making the two others watching quickly turn away upon hearing the aftermath being scattered across the ground. Tariro closed his eyes trying to tune out the squishy noises of discarded flesh then the slow prowl of footsteps.
"What...do we do now?" Tariro barely whispered.
Dakarai wanted to answer but heard Blackarachnia hiss, coming close to the truck when it was pushed back to the terror. Thankfully, their Velocitronian associate jumped onto the back of the monster, and she stomped in a circle trying to get him off. The men chose their chase to run into the jungle towards the nearest town.
They winced when the Velocitronian was shoved down and a heeled pede came down on his chest. With a might neither human expected, the mech's chest collapsed and Blackarachnia purposefully dug her golden heel into the spark chamber with another animalistic bellow before turning her attention up at the fleeing men.
They yelled out as blasts from Roughtire's stolen blaster exploded just behind them, another flying past them to destroy a tree. A few more shots and then nothing alerted them that Blackarachnia's power had faded, but that didn't make her any less deadly. The spider shook irritably and launched in a full-scale sprint, leaving upturned soil and grass with each step. The men dipped into the dense jungle hoping to lose her inside.
She pursued and Tariro fired back at her. The sabot struck her shoulder, making her armor spark as she was forced back and gave a high-pitched snarl. Before he could aim better, she leapt up among the canopies. Trees echoed with quick movements and the sound of shifting didn't calm their nerves any less. The splotches of light had a shadow run across them at blazing speeds with a hiss.
"We can't outrun her!" Dakarai said in defeat. The village was far without a vehicle and without their other weapons, they had to rely on facing her head on with the effective sabot rounds. They only had less than a dozen each.
They both slowed and were glancing up with ragged breaths, their guns ready. Dakarai thought he saw movement and fired in the direction of it. The trees caught the explosion with branches and smaller trees toppling down. No sign of Blackarachnia.
"Come on!" Tariro yelled.
Dakarai was silent trying to listen for her. Suddenly, webbing shot down and caught his foot. He tripped and dropped his weapon, but the webs blanketed Tariro who tried to fire up as he was bombarded by the sticky substance. His muffled struggling and flailing outline uselessly tried to tear at the strong webs, and Dakarai could only grow wide eyed as the insectoid clicking of the giant black widow was heard.
Blackarachnia landed in front of them in her beast mode with a part of her cephalothorax scarred with the burn damage of the sabot and snatched up Tariro as Dakarai desperately pulled at the webs holding his leg down. The other man was forcibly scrunched up before the large fangs pierced him to Dakarai's dismay and terror. Tariro was still alive as blood was tainting the webs and sucked dry from his body. He winced hearing each holler. Blackarachnia showed no mercy in killing the man painfully.
Finally, Dakarai managed to get a knife from his pocket and cut the webbing off. He tried to reach for his weapon but webbing was shot to cover it. He stared at Blackarachnia who tore Tariro apart. Dakarai barely saw the other man practically shrunken and deathly pale. He was dead now, and Blackarachnia was still hungry glaring back at him. With no weapon other than a knife at his disposal, Dakarai could only do what he should have kept doing in the first place. As the last of his team alive, he sprinted as the spider pursued with a sinister eagerness.
It seemed like she was toying with him, making him run. It was a tense wickedness he found cruel knowing no matter how far he ran, she was right behind him. The harsh terrain was starting to make his feet sore even through his boots. His skin felt on fire going under the direct beams of light he assumed he was immune to having traversed the jungles for years in his profession.
When Blackarachnia finally lunged, he grabbed his knife and threw it after she transformed to get him in robot mode. She roared as the knife embedded in her cheek and aimed to backhand him. He diverted away hoping his stunt bought him time. It seemed Blackarachnia was faster in her animal form than the other as it took her little time to catch up.
After several minutes of torturous running, hearing the faint clatter of tips of metal spider legs skimming across the trees after him to make him paranoid, he threw up and stumbled out into a dirt road with a Shona village just to his right with low walls of stone. Like his prayers had been answered, he immediately waved and screamed until a few women with clay pots carrying water stopped and alerted their elders.
However, the group of elders came out with ungracious expressions. One elder took the lead and stopped Dakarai in his tracks. His staff held beads and decorations depicting animals and techno-organics alike, one of which looked like a spider.
"You, poacher...what have you done?"
"I-I am not a poacher!" He lied, "I am in danger! Please, help me!"
"Then why do you wear what is not yours?" The elder asked, pointing at the lion's tooth around his neck with the staff. "Why has your presence brought death with you?"
Dakarai was taken aback. How could this man know about any of this? Then it dawned on him. Transformers were often associated with humans around the world. Many Transformers had partners and humans they befriended for whatever reason of their own. While there were a few of them among the village, who did Blackarachnia associate with?
The frightened man flinched as the spider crawled out into the open and approached the village only with optics focused on the poacher. To Dakarai's surprise, the village elder raised a hand up. Blackarachnia obeyed the gesture and stopped, looking between the elder and her prey still upset but considerate. Dakarai was about to thank him when the elder then walked past him and brought his hand to place between the spider's central optics. Blackarachnia slowly blinked and seemed to give a different type of hiss, not aggressive.
"Beautiful creature, Muvhimi Wechirikadzi, oh, how your home has been invaded by the unforgiving."
Dakarai was quick to defend himself with a stutter, "She-She murdered my friends, killed other Transformers!"
The elder slammed his staff down making even the defiant man tense as Blackarachnia's eight optics flared in response.
"Silence! She is doing what she must to protect herself and survive. Killing innocent animals for no purpose other than greed is not surviving. You are not welcome here for your crimes and since you drew her anger, you face what you have done. Your fate rests in her judgement. We will not interfere."
Dakarai looked helplessly at the man who passed him without a care. He could practically hear the laughter of the spider that patiently waited for the villagers that seemed disinterested in helping the shamed man. They all guarded the wall to forbid him from setting foot past it and left him at the mercy of Blackarachnia.
Dakarai was pleading as he pressed against the wall of the village that shunned him. Blackarachnia stalked closer in her beast mode before transforming, her spider limbs shivering as she revealed a mouthful of fangs in a dark smirk. She came close, the bleeding cheek where his knife had stuck hardly fazing her in her focus. He knew she was playing with him. It was her way of boasting by intimidation, reminding him he would die. It was just up to her when.
He felt nothing short of a defenseless animal. Prey. Her shadow made him cower.
Blackarachnia reeled back a second, tipping her head as if to study him before abruptly lunging. His cries echoed across the village and the jungle that promptly ignored him. Flesh was ripped off bone. A meal for an animal. An execution for a monster.
When the authorities found the camp, they saw wild animals already feeding on the remains of the poachers. One man's body was dragged away by a leopard with little care.
The head of the investigating team saw the trophies from successful poaching discarded to rot and the cybernetic animals taken were a shame to see. He immediately demanded, "Take all evidence and clear the camp. They were never here. Their disappearances will suffice as atonement for their actions."
His team didn't argue with him as they gathered all the pelts, bone, armor, and other trophies to bring back to their home of operations for processing. The remaining vehicles of the poachers were destroyed, the fabrics of tents and unwanted items were in a controlled burn pile, and the bodies of the Junkion and Velocitronian were taken later by hauling trucks to be assessed. All documents, journals, contacts, and other evidence were secured. The only thing left were the weapons.
The leader picked up the sabot gun and looked over the contents with disgust. Powerful enough to take down Transformers. Apparently, they weren't considerate enough to leave creatures that could easily fight back alone.
One of his men then said, "Prints of a third robot going to and from the jungle on different sides of the camp. A few poachers may have fled. We found scorch marks on the ground to the west over here. Do we pursue?"
The leader smirked, "No, chances are they are dead and if they are still alive, they will be killed one way or another. Our land is home to many alien creatures now, and their luck has all but run out. Let the cowards die. What goes around, comes around."
His men laughed among themselves at the foolishness of the poachers. There was no need to investigate further for the camp now dismantled. The only evidence they needed to look over were clues whether or not there were other locations of the markets these poachers were aligned to and who else was among them. While the buyers were protected under certain laws, they would be noted for any purchases of strictly illegal items.
As the team wrapped up at the crime scene, they all paused upon hearing an insectoid bellow common among the area. The men were silent, but they knew her presence. The vicious predator of Zimbabwe, Blackarachnia.
The leader of the team chuckled, "Indeed. Poor idiots. Muvhimi Wechirikadzi got them. Come...let us leave her in peace."
The nickname from the local villages was well known across the country and beyond. Blackarachnia stalked the jungle and was most dangerous to anything that stood in her way. Locals were wise to her and knew how to keep on her good side. The poachers were hardly her first victims, and they wouldn't be her last. Only fools who didn't respect the land and its unspoken rules met a terrifying end. To Zimbabwe's populace, they were no stranger to seeing bodies of the unfortunate left across the wilderness, those pitied to have crossed paths with her or the other Transformers that resided here.
Hearing her one last time, the men left the site to not disturb the protected land any further.
AN: Instead of giving Blackarachnia a human partner, I decided midway to give her instead a village who respects her...and to take a jab at poachers not being given mercy because everyone is going to get poked at once, like I said.
So, one thing I do need to clear up is that the reason the dialogue isn't all written in Shona is because I don't know about you guys but I get annoyed when I have to constantly plug in lines to translate them for a fic. It kind of deprives the momentum of it by doing that, so writing this you have to look at it as they are speaking their native language but it's mostly translated for you with only a few words of Shona left in to remind you that they are. On top of that, I don't like having entire lines of different languages in multiple sentences because I have to find a translator to do that and I feel like it's insulting to the language if the translator doesn't get it perfect and I just post whatever it gives me in the hopes that it is correct. I don't like hurting the languages like that; it makes me feel like I'm mocking them by having everything translated to a language I don't know. In future installments, same rule. I may have a word or two but it's not going to be heavy in the language I'm trying to convey.