Arachne

 

Eritu sounds deeply worried, nonetheless, I can't tell what she means.

 

"Alright?" (N)

"Yes. Normally they are self-sufficient, yet they are still so young. And I cannot feel them anymore." (E)

"Who are you referring to?" (N)

"O-Ooohhhh! You don't know! What am I supposed to do now?" (E)

 

She ponders for a moment but ultimately faces me again.

 

"Let me ask it like this: Do you have some kind of prickling or squirming feeling inside?" (E)

 

I don't like where this is going.
This is one of the things I surely don't want to hear, but eventually will be confronted with.
Just ignore it for now, answer the question and dismiss it.

 

"Yes, I have!" (N)

 

Now please, go away!

Go away!

Go away!

 

"Huff, I'm so glad. Then the fact that I can't feel them anymore just means they properly bonded to you. This is good. So they are still fine with you." (E)

 

No!
I didn't want to hear anything!
But now I have to ask before my imagination kills me.

 

"W-what do you mean? Who is fine? Who belongs to me now?" (N)

"My little ones. They are still so young and small and react poorly to stress." (E)

"I don't understand. Who are these 'little ones'? And what does this have to do with how my skin fee-... No... No, no, no, no! You aren't going to tell me that... NO!!!" (N)

"Yes, your familiars! You completely took them over, and now you can grow and spawn them inside you. Isn't that great?" (E)

"Y-you mean this crawling feeling is..." (N)

"All your little familiars, playing and spawning inside you." (E)

 

I look at my arm and press it a little, trying to trap this crawling feeling.
Then I notice for a moment a bulge that travels beneath my wrist.
My vision narrows down to that spot, then goes black.

 

"Waahh! Nerysi!" (E)

.

.

.

 

"Ungh!"

 

I wake up again.
The first thing I see is Talisa with a concerned expression.
After this, it takes only a moment for me to realize that I'm tied up with strings, hanging in the air in a way that there is no strain on my body.
Nonetheless, I panic.

 

"What is going on here?! You said you wouldn't eat me!" (N)

"Calm down! No one is going to eat you, Nerysi. In fact, these bindings are for your sake. We will release you as soon as you can promise that you won't do anything reckless." (T)

"My sake? What are you talking about? What would I do? And my name is Neri!" (N)

"Eritu told me that you immediately lost consciousness when you learned about it, so it was only right to assume you would react in an unpredictable way when you wake up again." (T)

"I-I'm s-sorry! I didn't want to scare you, but they were my little ones before, so I was worried!" (E)

"W-what do y-you mean?" (N)

"We are talking about your familiars. Your spawn. The countless existences residing inside your body which you can create and order at will, and which will spawn infinitely from you." (T)

"You aren't saying..." (N)

"Yes, I am telling you that there are spiders inside your body. You are a spider matriarch, so you have them. And this group has successfully linked to your body, so you can control them at will! (T)

"They are really friendly and would do anything for you! They even take care of your body and mend your wounds or make it sturdier with their webs. Aren't they lovely?" (E)

 

THERE ARE SPIDERS UNDER MY SKIN!!!

My body cramps and I want to rip this ridiculously sturdy skin away!
I struggle against my bindings, trying to break free, but to no avail.

 

"Before you ask. It wouldn't help to expel them now. They are maybe too young to live easily alone, but now that you are linked to your brood you will produce them on your own in your body. You would eventually replace them. So there's no way to get rid of them." (T)

 

Terror grasps me, tears fall down my face and sizzle on the ground, and foremost this crawling feeling intensifies.
And now I know what it is!!

This simple thought accelerates my panic and intensifies like this the crawling.
And then something happens that scares me stiff.
My skin opens without resistance at several places and great numbers of tiny spiders escape from there.
They are of a white-silverish color and mostly just slightly bigger than ants, they squirm all over me and my breath gets rigid.
They gather at several places where the bindings are located.

 

"Zcchh"

 

I feel the known sensation of acid around my body, yet without experiencing the painful reaction to it.
However, the strings are affected by the burn and soon the first one rips.
The bindings start to loosen and unperceivably quickly the spiders vanish.
Back into my body!!!

The web that bound me disintegrates at the points the spiders gathered and I get lowered to the ground.
I tremble and stay unable to move despite now being freed.

 

"Oh, your little ones thought you didn't want to be bound and commenced to help you! So young and already so considerate, And Talisa, have you seen the color? They were all silver-white, so they really are her brood! When they were mine they were different, I spread much differently in the specifics!" (E)

"Eritu get a hold of yourself! I know that you have the strongest passion for your brood, but now is not the time to discuss this. We first need to make sure that Nerysi doesn't do anything stupid." (T)

 

Stupid?
Why would I do anything stupid?
Ehehehehe...

 

"I'm not a spider."

"There are no spiders inside me."

"Everything is fine."

"There is nothing wrong."

"Hick."

"I'm okay."

"I will just, go home, and eat dinner, with mum and dad."

"Hick. Hick!"

"E-everything is okay."

"They'll tell me, they love me, and there's nothin to be scared about."

"Hick. Sniff. Hick!"

"Waaahhhh!" (N)

 

I can't process this and lose control over my mind and feelings.

 

"Maybe we should bring her back to bed?" (E)

"Might be for the best! There was much to take in for her today." (T)

 

I cannot walk on my own, but get princess carried back into my room by Talisa.
The bed is like new and both of them put my trembling body gently into it.
I stay unable to move and get covered with a sheet.
I don't sleep, but instead, look hollowed at a blank point at the ceiling.

 

"Do you think she will be able to adjust?" (E)

"She might be a bad case, yet I think there is no need to worry. It could be an issue that she is very non-violent, but this is good for her brood for now as she won't harm them. If she lives with them she will eventually get used to their presence." (T)

"I see! This sounds good!" (E)