Arachne

 

This night my sleep gets disrupted.
Some pulse rushes through me and my eyes fly open.

 

"Aaahhhh! What is this?!" (N)

 

My itch grows as strong as the first time I had it.
My body cramps and to my dismay my spider legs extend.
The pain itself is manageable, but the feeling that permeates my whole body is too much.
I’m confused and terrified and my body won’t listen.
Someone help me!
I think I gonna lose it!
How am I supposed to keep my mind like this?

.
.
.

I shall not.
I am not supposed to stay sane.
The most terrible thing happens to me.
My skin opens at several places and out of every opening my body has spiders emerge.

 

"No! Stop it! No spiders!" (N)

 

A seemingly endless stream of them emerges and they just keep on coming.
They soon cover my whole body and I am paralyzed and cannot react, while they are squirming all over me.
I’m also still cramping a little which only makes me more unable to act in any way.
What is going on here?!
After a length of time that felt like an eternity, the stream finally stops.
There are still those on my skin, but the itch settles down.

Please spiders, don't do anything to me!
They are everywhere!
What can I do?
I am so exhausted.
Not a single muscle will move.
Please help, anyone!
Help!

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.

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"NO!!" (N)

 

I wake up from the nightmare, bolting upright.
I look around, but can't see any spiders.
My body feels awfully strained, but there's not the slightest hint of my experience.
A dream?

This must have been a dream!
Those spiders were too many and too large to have fit inside me.
I mean the room is clear.
There is nothing to fear!
Or?

A feeling overcomes me.
I couldn't see anything in the room, however, there is one place I didn't inspect yet.
Slowly and carefully I lift the sheet that covers me.
I was right.

Spiders!
Countless spiders are nestling there between my legs!

 

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" (N)

 

My spider legs rush out due to the panic and throw me out of my bed to the other side of the room.
Disturbed, the spiders are scattering in all directions.
My flight got them away from my body, but they are so many, they nearly reach me.
Help!

 

"No, no, no! Don't come close! STOP!" (N)

.

.

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Huh?
They stopped!
Not just that they ceased to advance on me, but they are all now stock-still.
What is going on here?

The whole ground is covered with silver-white spiders of significant size.
Most are at least half as large as my hand, some bigger.
And none of them even twitches!

So many!
They shall leave!

 

"M-m-move b-back from me!" (N)

 

Immediately they all settle to the other side of the room and gather there in a giant bulk, surely as big as me.
This is too much for me!
Doing the appropriate thing in this situation, I crawl to the doorway, open it and close it behind me.
Then I rush away as fast as I can.
The direction is unimportant!
Just away!
Away from the spiders!

I even forgot to retract the spider legs.
This causes me to fall several times.
Yet at the same time, they catch my fall and keep me upright.

Wait a moment!
Am I running with these things?!!

No!
Stop it!
I retract the legs and continue running the normal way.

Sprinting at top speed, my "own" legs soon grow tired.
It doesn't take long and I am unable to move onwards.
Completely exhausted and with the leaving of my panic I slump down.
I curl up into a ball and stay like this.
Trembling and sobbing!

.

.

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"Nerysi? What are you doing here?" (E)

 

Eritu!

 

"Nerysi, did something happen? My little ones became agitated all at the same time, so I followed the signal to the source. They all refused to come here." (E)

 

I am too shaken to answer and remain quivering on the ground.

 

"Are you okay? You're shivering! What happened that you put out such a strong mental scream?" (E)

 

Hah, so it was like that!

 

"You look really finished. Let me help you back to your room!" (E)

 

She bows to help me up, but she wants to bring me back to my room.
The place with the spiders!!!

I start to whine and Eritu seems to be lost on how to handle me in this state.

 

"Please, tell me what is wrong! I cannot help you if I don't know." (E)

 

All I can manage to bring out is:

 

"Spiders." (N)

"I'm sorry, but I don't know what to make of that." (E)

 

She helps me back up and I fail to gain enough thought to react to us moving.
We walk along the passageways, while Eritu supports the unsteady me.
I just get dragged along and cannot bring my mind back into order from my breakdown.
Still, what I am able to discern, is that we in the end arrive back at my room.

 

"No, no, no! I need to get away from here! Don't open it!" (N)

"I'm sorry, Nerysi, but my chamber wouldn't help you I think. You say there is something in there?" (E)

 

She opens the door, enters a bit, and stops in her tracks.

 

"You had..." (E)

 

No!
Don't say it!
Don't say it!

 

"Your first breeding! So early!" (E)

 

NO!
I didn't want to hear this!
They aren't mine!

 

"What a great event! We-" (E) 

"No! This can't be! This isn't true!" (N)

 

"You can't just run away like this!" (E)

 

She turns back to the swarming horrors!

 

"Hey little ones! Are you all okay? Did mommy leave you? It's fine! She is just a little overwhelmed that is all. You all look healthy. Don't worry, mommy will stay with you all!" (E)

 

She starts to tend to the spider army scattered in the room and pets some of them.

And did she call me a mommy?
This isn't true!
I haven't given birth.

This isn't it!
This isn't right!

 

"No. I need to get away here. Before they come close." (N)

"No, don't go! They are still so young! They need their mommy!" (E)

"I am not their mommy! These are spiders and I am..." (N)

"An Arachne! This is your brood! Don't you feel the connection to them?" (E)

 

She cut me off!
How am I supposed to respond to that?

And yes, I can somehow feel them.
I am totally aware of their presence.
One of the reasons why I couldn't calm down.
I thought it was just the remaining panic, but it is the fact that they are on my mind.
Every single one of them!

 

"I... cannot! This is too much. Please help me." (N)

 

Tears stream down my face and fizzle on the ground.

 

"Sigh, alright. You are seemingly not in a state to tend to your little ones. Maybe I can bring them to an empty nursing room first, but we will have to talk about this!" (E)

 

She seems frighteningly serious about this matter.

 

"So can you all come?... Hmm, that's strange! Nerysi they aren't listening properly, did you give them any superior orders?" (E)

 

Orders?

 

"N-no, I mean..." (N)

"Have you said anything to them?" (E)

"J-just to stop moving and stay away from me!" (N)

 

Huh, I had never thought that she could make such a displeased face.

 

"Not only something this cruel but also confusing orders. These poor things! Don't worry I will teach your mother how she has to treat you!" (E)

 

This doesn't just sound terrifying, but her tone is also so serious.

 

"You need to revoke your orders!" (E)

"What?" (N)

"Just tell them they are free to do what they want. Now!" (E)

"But then they will keep coming again!" (N)

"TAKE BACK WHAT YOU SAID RIGHT NOW! THEY ARE IN AGONY EVERY MOMENT THIS KEEPS ON!!" (E)

 

This emotional outburst was unexpected and I am too shaken to react properly.
I just want this to end and if complying will help...

"R-right... u-uhm, you c-can all do w-what you want." (N)

 

There is not much change in my eyes, yet I suppose while they don't walk around they grow a bit more relaxed.

 

"Good! I’ll take them with me and feed them. Also, I think I will send Talisa to you later. Right now, I am a little too loaded to talk." (E)

 

She sounds really angry.
However, my mind is more centered on the fact that they are going away.
I put as much distance between me and the door as possible and soon Eritu leaves with an entourage of a horde of spiders.
This view distresses me deeply.
I don't know where to go now, so I anxiously enter my room, checking every little corner... twice.
I can't make out any spiders, nonetheless, I am not able to go back to my bed with these vivid memories and instead sit quivering on a chair, hugging my legs.

After this traumatic experience, I'm a terrible mess.
It's impossible for me to calm down and the whole time I'm scanning the walls for any remaining spiders.
As much as I'm on edge I get totally startled when my name is suddenly called out.

 

"Nerysi?" (T)

 

Well, she said she would send her.
And I didn't bother to close the door or whatever you call this obstructing web.

 

"Are you alright?" (T)

 

No, I'm not alright!
Do I look alright?
All of this is just too much!
My mind is still too disturbed to answer properly, while I recollect what happened.

 

"I calmed down Eritu a little. She expects maybe a bit too much from you. It happened earlier than I thought and you aren't ready yet to properly nurse them." (T)

 

Nurse them!?!
I can't even stand their presence!
Don't talk about things like feeding!

 

"The good part is that they all are healthy and that helped Eritu. She cares very much for them and is prone to take their side." (T)

"They all came out." (N)

"Hmh? What was that?" (T)

"They all came out of me! Squirmed over my whole body! I can't take this! This is too much! You cannot expect me to do this! How am I supposed to handle this? Those are spiders! They are scary! And I am close to losing it! They were everywhere! It is not right! I can't stand their presence! I don't understand anything about them. Why me? That is just not right. It's not fair!" (N)

"Let me ask you two questions!" (T)

"Questions?" (N)

"First! Where is your brood right now and how is their current state?" (T)

 

I know exactly where they are and feel how they crawl in a distressed way.
They are agitated from being brought there, but they were fed, and that helped them to settle down it seems.
I point in their general direction.

 

"They are confined there and... don't like it." (N)

"And you say you wouldn't understand them. You know exactly what is going on. You are perfectly aware. All you need is some time to get used to them. It's not like their presence will vanish, as long as you don't tell them to drop dead. They might do it for you! But you wouldn't take advantage like this, right?" (T)

"I don't want to get used to them! Is it not possible to let Eritu have them?" (N)

"Second question! How is your condition? More precisely, is your skin better?" (T)

"The itch and crawling got better without them, but it always gets worse when I'm stressed, so it is around normal now." (N)

"And what does that tell you?" (T)

"That the spiders had caused the itch and now without them I am better?" (N)

"And the fact that it's still present?" (T)

 

I realize!

 

"T-that there are still spiders inside me." (N)

"Yes! If Kyroki didn't mess up, you should be clear for a month, but they will emerge eventually. They are all yours, so it isn't an option to push them to someone else. In fact, you should use this chance. You won't lose the link between you and your brood, so it might be better to get used to them now. Especially as you have for now just one batch to deal with. This will be easier than ten times the amount!" (T)

 

She isn't wrong, yet I cannot bring myself to come close to them.

 

"I am too afraid. They terrify me!" (N)

"The only way to deal with this is to face your fear. You certainly don't have to worry. They are your brood! They would never act against you! So objectively you are safe. The only problem is your reaction toward them!" (T)

"S-still!" (N)

"I‘ll tell you what! We‘ll install a room for them, and from now on, every day you will stay at least one hour inside. But one of us will always accompany you, to make sure you can handle it or stop it if it gets to be too much." (T)

 

This mere idea makes me tremble all over.
This sounds endlessly terrifying and the mere prospect makes me anxious.
I look pleading at her.

 

"Sorry! But there is no room for negotiations. This is for your own good! You don't even need to touch them. It's just staying in the same room." (T)

"Gulp!" (N)

"No way around this! Yet for today it seems you had enough, so we start tomorrow." (T)

 

She leaves after this and I stay alone in my room.
I feel very tired and my body is strained.
Likely in part caused by my sprint, and partly this incident itself.
I felt weak as soon as I woke up, so it seems that the process of those spiders emerging is exhausting on its own.
Yet, I have problems laying back in my bed.
I can't forget the experience of lifting this sheet and seeing them.
Since I initially slipped out of my sac the temperature down here has been fine, so I might be able to sleep without a sheet.
Or I could simply use the chair.
But the bed sounds better.
I lay myself down after throwing the sheet to the side and fall fast asleep.