Rachnera frowned as her threadwork came out slightly crooked again—a blemish so slight that only the most cynical of critics would notice the imperfection. Weaving was a skill that was supposed to come naturally to all Arachne, but in her excitement for the coming night she had become clumsy. Though, it was an excitement that was seemingly misplaced for without any real indication as to why she felt this night was going to be delightful, and so everything needed to be perfect.
Most other nights she may very well have gone straight back to bed—despite having slept most all day—but tonight was not to be like most other nights for tonight was a full moon, and she was feeling awfully unlike herself. She felt energetic—and quite frankly sentimental—as her mind turned to Kimihito, stirring her awake. The full moon had a way of revealing one's deepest desires, like an alcohol induced candor, bringing out thoughts and feelings and passions one would have otherwise left unspoken, unacted.
Though, such urges were dangerous unless controlled. Kimihito had once praised her for being careful, kind, gentle, having never hurt him as the others had. She had been embarrassed then, but she would reluctantly admit those words stuck with her. It took a great deal of self-control to restrain a body as dangerous as hers, and she promised not to let herself lose control this night.
This night was to be theirs to share.
Rachnera sat up in her hammock of Arachne silk, her eight legs dangling leisurely toward the ground as she focused on her work. Kind and gentle, she repeated Kim's words to herself as she spun a new thread, trying to get the texture just right so as to approach perfection. This new thread was tough as steel yet soft as silk, like her honey. Perfect, she smiled at the thought, imagining how Kimihito might look tangled up in her threads. She shook her head, fighting back her fiery passion fanned by the moonlit night, focusing instead on Kimihito's words. Careful. Kind. Gentle.
She imagined Kimihito in just a scarf and herself in something revealing but subtle to still leave much up to the imagination, a negligee perhaps. Now wouldn't that be beautifully risqué, she tantalized herself, quickly weaving thought into reality. Each strand of thread came together perfectly in her careful hands, giving way to a beautiful work of art like a tapestry from the myths of old. She had never been the best at articulating her feelings, but perhaps this way she could show him just how much she cared.
She held up a white scarf clean as snow, silky and soft with a surface like a spider's web. Never had she put so much love into a single work. No, she put it all here on full display, hoping he might notice. Now all that was missing was her muse . . .
Rachnera climbed down from her hammock, moving silently in the shadows and shying away from the moonlight so as not to wake any unwanted competition. The house was unusually quiet, even for a winter night, meaning all the other girls had already been put to bed, lest their impulses get the better of them. She, however, knew how to control her baser instincts.
Moving briskly down the attic ladder, Rachnera made her way to Kimihito's room, which was right beneath her own. From a perch on the ceiling, she peered furtively up and down the hallways, noticing all the other rooms were closed. Certain she was alone in her hunt, she pushed the door open and crept inside, and as she did, she could hear two feet scurrying around.
"My, my, still awake, are we?" Rachnera mused, scanning the dark room for her prey. She felt her heart beat rapidly with excitement in that moment, having longed for a night like this. But as her six eyes settled on the ghastly blue figure hiding sheepishly in the dark, her excitement quickly faded. "Lala, what are you doing in here?" Rachnera seethed, knowing better than to shout. "And where's Kim?"
Lala was crouched behind a small work desk along the wall of Kimihito's room, her face flushed red with embarrassment. "Ah, so you come seeking the mortal as I do," she replied, quickly composing herself as she stood up and placed her hand over her mouth.
"I do, and I don't intend on letting you get in my way," Rachnera replied as she spun another thread to subdue her foe.
"W—wait, you misinterpret my words," Lala stammered out. "You see, I am but a mere agent of death, so who am I to interfere in the affairs of mortal men?"
"Then why are you in here?" Rachnera asked again, sternly.
"Well, you see . . ." Lala paused, tapping her fingers as though embarrassed by the whole situation. "I sensed a malign aura emanating from his room, and fearing for the mortal's life, I came to check on him . . . and to perhaps provide some form of companionship as a temporary solace from his mortal toils."
Mortal toils? Rachnera stared at the pale woman with a dumbfounded look, though she had an idea of what she was trying to say. "So, you just came in here to comfort him?" she asked, moving closer to the table where the Dullahan stood. Lala quietly shook her head in agreement.
Rachnera looked down at the table which Lala had clearly been sorting through; it contained a ledger along with an array of financial documents organized in a way she did not quite understand, but organized nonetheless. The numbers seemed to be accounting for all manner of bills and living expenses for all the girls as well as various sources of income: pay from Kimihito's own job, government assistance, as well as donations from herself and Meroune. But not all the numbers seemed to zero out. How could I have not noticed something was wrong? She pounded her own head in frustration. Managing a household of seven other people—many of whom did not contribute in any way—could not be an easy task for Kimihito to undertake alone.
"Death and taxes; they say those are the only two certainties in life. No matter what we do, we will all inevitably die just as there will always be someone who comes to collect what is owed," Lala begun to say out of nowhere. "What do you think those inevitabilities tell us about our own lives?"
Rachnera glanced at Lala, not at all in the mood for her shenanigans. "What are you on about?"
"Tell me, is life a mere thread of inevitable points leading up to our deaths, or is it a tapestry woven from several interlacing threads in which our choices, our stories begin to take form? Like Arachne and Athena from the myths of old, teaching lessons of hubris and deceit through the weave—"
"Get to the point," Rachnera interjected, coming near to a shout. She felt her pedipalps begin to rub together in a mix of annoyance and impatience. She was not interested in a lesson; she simply wanted to know what the ever-enigmatic Dullahan wanted with her honey.
Lala cowered backward, her head nearly falling off her shoulders. She clumsily caught herself and took up another dramatic pose. "Every story that begins must end, but what happens between those inevitabilities is not set in stone; that is the mortal toil of freedom. And what is freedom if not a choice? At the end of your life, what story, what lessons do you think will be inscribed in your tapestry? What choices will make up those threads? And will they include him?"
Rachnera glared at Lala, then looked down at the scarf she still held gently in her hands. Choices . . . She struggled to understand what these quandaries had to do with her, but she did not like the insinuations. "Where's Kim?" she asked simply, refusing to play along any further.
"On the balcony, beneath a full moon's gaze. Someone must speak with him, that much is inevitable. If you won't, then I will," Lala said with a grim resolve.
In that moment, Rachnera could almost believe the Dullahan was truly an emissary of death, but she would not allow death to stand between her and Kimihito again. "You stay away from him, I'll go," she curtly declared.
Without waiting for objection or reply, she skittered out of the room, travelling quickly down the hall to a pair of glass double doors. Outside, she could see Kimihito standing against a rail at the edge of the balcony, staring up at the full moon overhead. She felt a surge of passion in her heart once again as she basked in the moonlight seeping in through the glass; it was a carnal urge to claim her love, to make Kimihito all hers, to bind him in web for her to use however she pleased. Careful. Kind. Gentle. She reiterated the words, fighting against the full moon's influence; she needed to stay in control of herself, of her desires. She needed to be there for him, as he had been for her, for all of them.
She took a deep breath before silently pulling the door open and moving outside. The blistering touch of winter hit her immediately, reminding her just how scantily dressed she was, but she ignored the burning cold as she focused her mind on Kimihito. He had not taken notice of her, seemingly lost in thought as she approached.
"Honey, what are you doing out here all alone?" she solemnly asked, gripping the scarf tight in her hand as she waited patiently for reply.
Kimihito spun around, startled. "Ra-rachnee, what are you doing up?" Immediately, his face turned red as he looked her up and down, taking notice of her gown which was woven from a much thinner, more delicate thread that was nearly translucent. Revealing, but still leaving plenty to imagination. "Aren't you cold? Maybe we should head inside . . ." he began, turning his gaze away in prude embarrassment.
Indeed, she was, but that wasn't at all her concern. "Always worried about others aren't you, honey . . ." She moved over to Kimihito and gripped him gently by the chin, tilting his head up so that she could look into his eyes. She had to be careful, precise—especially around his beautiful face. The carapace on her fingertips was sharp as a knife's edge. One wrong move and she could hurt him, hurt the one man who ever cared about her. But she wanted to feel him, feel his warmth against her cold carapace. His soft brown gaze quickly settled on the two largest of her six eyes, looking into her with a genuine love she had never seen from anyone else in her life. She felt she could endure the cold for hours with Kim here with her. "I have something for you," she said tenderly, eagerly pulling the scarf over his head.
Her fingers begun to shake from the cold as she gently wrapped the scarf so that it sat comfortably around Kimihito's neck. He took notice of her trembling hands and quickly took off his green jacket, placing it firmly in her hand. "You should put this on before you catch a cold," he said with a warm smile she could not resist.
She slid the coat over her arms, feeling the gentle linger of Kimihito's warmth, but still she longed for his touch. Without hesitation, she pressed her chest into his back and wrapped her pedipalps around his waist—pulling him away from the balcony's edge—as she pulled the coat around him, feeling a rush in her heart as they shared each other's heat. "There, isn't that better?" she teased.
Much to her surprise, Kimihito did not try to escape her advances, instead he pulled the jacket together and nuzzled his face in the scarf she had made him. "It's beautiful," he said, tilting his head back up to smile at her again.
For once Rachnera was thankful for the cold as her cheeks were already a rosy red, hiding her embarrassment. She quickly cleared her throat, looking to stall as she thought about how to change the subject. "I, uh—how about you tell me what has you so worried; I can tell you've been thinking hard about something all night."
Kim rubbed his neck in a clear admission of guilt. "Well, there's just a lot goin on, y'know . . ."
"What did I tell you about bottling up your emotions, honey?" Rachnera further insisted. "If you need to talk you know we're all here for you—I'm here for you . . ."
Kim tilted his head back and looked up at her, trying his best to smile for her. She loved that about him. How he always seemed to smile at her when all other men were too afraid to do so. "I just—I didn't wanna worry any of you. And if I'm being honest, I—I'm scared, Rachnee . . ."
"Is this about the finances? Because you and I can go take care of that together right now—we'll figure something out. Maybe we can even get Lala to help," Rachnera suggested, imagining the Dullahan had gone back to organizing the household's accounts.
"Lala?" Kim's smile widened a little as though he found the thought amusing. The three of them and a night of accounting was not exactly how Rachnera envisioned this night going, but she figured there would be plenty of time for pleasure later. "It's not just the finances," Kim continued, "they're a bother, but in the end they're just numbers, just a puzzle that needs to be put together, y'know. I just need time and they'll all fall perfectly into place . . ." Kim's voice trailed off as he looked up at the moon once more, lost in its enrapturing glow. Rachnera placed a kind, consoling hand on his shoulder, encouraging him to continue. "But my life, it feels like a puzzle with all the wrong pieces. No matter how I arrange them in my head they just don't seem to come together perfectly, something is going to be wrong, something is going to be out of place."
Or someone, Rachnera thought, knowing right away what was troubling Kimihito. The choice. She begun to run her fingers through his soft black hair, trying to think of the perfect words to say to comfort him. But maybe that was the problem. Maybe she needed to stop pursuing perfection and simply say what was on her mind. "Kim," she whispered. He looked up at her, as though surprised to hear the sound of his own name—or a part of it at least. "Before I found you, I had never met a man who wasn't either scared of me or wanted to use me in some way; I was forced to make deals with all manner of devils to get by . . . but then I meant a saint who proved to me that there was still some good left in the world despite all the doubts I had." She placed a hand on Kim's soothingly warm cheek, smiling at him as he had always smiled at her. "I know that if anyone is able to make the right choice then it's you."
"But what about the others? How will they feel, what will they do if I don't pick them?" Kim asked in a panic. "What about you, Rachnee?" He grabbed her hand tight, finding solace in her touch.
Rachnera held firm in her gaze, refusing to turn away from him. "There's nothing I want more than to be with you, honey, but I can't stand to see you live the rest of your life like this. You need to stop worrying about us and do what's best for you . . ." She rested her forehead against his eyes and closed her eyes, fighting back tears she feared might come. "Even if it's me you need to leave behind, then that's fine, so long as your happy." With those words she felt a single tear slide down her cheek. Before it could finish falling, she felt it wiped away as a warm hand took its place.
"Don't talk like that, Rachnee," Kimihito pleaded. "I would never leave you behind in my life; you know that I'll always be here for you if you need me, no matter the circumstance. Even if we're not together."
Rachnera opened her eyes to find Kim still smiling at her. How had he become the one to comfort her, she wondered. As she stared into his seductively kind gaze, she could not help but see an invitation in his eyes. Perhaps it was the moon skewing her senses, but all her instincts were telling her to lean in for a kiss. Choices, she considered Lala's words.
She wrapped her arms around him and begun slowly pulling him closer in. He did not seem to object as she took the opportunity laid before her, closing her eyes and leaning in for a kiss. For a brief moment she felt her heart race faster than it had all night in a mix of apprehension and excitement, not knowing if Kimihito would accept. But as her lips touched his, hear fears were washed away in a wave of ecstasy. She squeezed him tight, her pedipalps tightening around his waist and her hands refusing to let go.
It was a delightful experience she would not have traded for any other. She wanted to hold it for as long as possible, but as her instincts began to overpower her, she reluctantly pulled away.
She was left speechless, but Kim looked at her with a solemn gaze. "Thanks for coming out, Rachnee" he said, his face still a bashful red.
"I'm glad we had the chance to talk," she replied.
"Should we head down to the kitchen? I can whip you something up since you slept through dinner," he offered, turning towards the door.
Rachnera pulled Kimihito back in, losing herself once more in his eyes. "Don't tempt me with a snack honey," she teased, licking her lips. "Besides, I'd hate to rush this moment; it's not often we get time alone, so let's use it for all its worth . . ."