The cave spider scuttled back and forth, studying the seated figure. It experimented with lowering a loop of webbing, but abandoned the plan when the loop made contact and their size difference became too obvious to ignore.
\u201cEven if we all worked together,\u201d It thought. \u201cWe still couldn\u2019t capture that. We\u2019d need a Scion.\u201d
A tremor in the roof webbing passed along a warning; Invader. The spider looked up, then hurled a loop of webbing at a hornet as it flew by, snagging it at the same time as one of its brethren slightly deeper into the cave.
As they reeled the struggling insect in, the spider asked itself.
\u201cWhat\u2019s a Scion? Why do I know that word?\u201d
It felt important somehow.
When the hornet was defeated, and it\u2019s energy was sent flowed into the roof webbing, the spiders sent out a message.
\u201cIntruder not invading. Not gathering, not destroying, damaging but not attacking.\u201d
\u201cWhat\u2019s a Scion?\u201d The first spider added.
A flood of messages filled the web.
\u201cMore intruders not invading at entrance.\u201d
\u201cDamaging because large and clumsy?\u201d
\u201cWe know \u2018Scion\u2019. How do we know \u2018Scion\u2019?\u201d
\u201cIntruder not invading tried to gather; Now poisoned.\u201d
\u201c\u2018Scion\u2019 is bigger us. Why do we know this?\u201d
\u201cBees see intruders not invading outside.\u201d
\u201cIntruder not invading attacked while gathering? Not right.\u201d
\u201cBad weather coming outside.\u201d
\u201cIntruder not invading gathered and ate toadstools.\u201d
\u201cWhy!?\u201d
\u201cNot What Toadstools Are For!\u201d
\u201cBees say \u2018Scion\u2019 like Queen. Powerful.\u201d
\u201cIntruder not invading dying?\u201d
\u201cSick, not dying. Big creature, small toadstools.\u201d
The cave spider, still speculatively eyeing up the seated figure, tried to imagine a spider so big it could catch the huge creature, then tried to imagine what the creature could possibly want. It wasn\u2019t trying to gather anything, it didn\u2019t seem to be trying to destroy anything, it didn\u2019t seem like a threat; it was just sitting there.
The last message from the bees stuck in its mind. More intruders not invading outside, and the bees knew something about Scions, whatever they were. It started making its way along the web, heading for the entrance; This needed a direct conversation, not messages.
\u201cWhy did I think that?\u201d It wondered, looking down at the small group of large creatures clustered around the rock pool by the entrance. \u201cI\u2019ve never needed to do this before.\u201d
One of the large creatures was vomiting into a crack in the rocks, while another crouched nearby, offering a bowl of water.
\u201cWhy eat toadstools?\u201d The web asked. \u201cGather yes, eat no.\u201d
\u201cVery new? Very young? Very stupid?\u201d Replied the cave spider, trying to think of a reason to eat anything so clearly poisonous as a toadstool. The things glowed; Nothing that glows is good eating.
Dim sparks crawled out of the roof web and onto the cave spider as it traveled, though it didn\u2019t notice, intent on making its way to the entrance. The way seemed clearer here, it could grip better and reach further and jump longer that it had ever been able to before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Down on the cave floor, the vomiting figure wiped it\u2019s mouth with a shaky hand and took a gulp of water, then lay on it\u2019s back on the cave floor.
\u201cNo, definitely not edible.\u201d
It pointed at the roof.
\u201cWonder where that one\u2019s going?\u201d
The figure with the bowl of water looked up & jumped slightly, splashing the one on the ground.
\u201cHey!\u201d
\u201cSorry, but \u2026 That\u2019s a big spider.\u201d
They watched the cave spider make it\u2019s way towards the entrance.
\u201cBiggest one I\u2019ve seen so far.\u201d Said the one on the ground.
\u201cIt\u2019s the only big one.\u201d The standing figure replied. \u201cAnd there aren\u2019t any small ones.\u201d
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d
\u201cLook around.\u201d The standing one gestured. \u201cWe\u2019re maybe 50 paces into this cave, those spiders are everywhere, but apart from that big one heading right for the entrance in a dead straight line, all the rest are exactly the same size.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The cave spider scuttled back and forth, studying the seated figure. It experimented with lowering a loop of webbing, but abandoned the plan when the loop made contact and their size difference became too obvious to ignore. \u201cEven if we all worked together,\u201d It thought. \u201cWe still couldn\u2019t capture that. We\u2019d need a Scion.\u201d A tremor in the roof webbing passed along a warning;\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[8],"tags":[],"fcn_genre":[],"fcn_fandom":[],"fcn_character":[],"fcn_content_warning":[],"class_list":["post-20","fcn_chapter","type-fcn_chapter","status-publish","hentry","category-shelter-in-a-sleeping-cave"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter\/20","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/fcn_chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter\/20\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter\/20\/revisions\/21"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_genre?post=20"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_fandom","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_fandom?post=20"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_character","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_character?post=20"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_content_warning","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_content_warning?post=20"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}