jeneah Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 It seemed that we were all on the same page. We were going to tame this land together, build a few settlements, make things a little easier. We would rise above the daily hand-to-mouth so that we could survive—Together. But even today there still exists anti- boy-that-lives-inside-the-spider-who-tried-to-eat-him-long-ago bigotry. Not overt bigotry, mostly. But I saw it in a thousand daily microagressions, the disgusted glances, the averted eyes, the utter unwillingness to make friends with my friends. The last straw for me was when I came home to camp one day to see that someone new had moved in, building his little wooden house just north of our camp. The others told me he was nice enough—a piggy sort of fellow. But when he finally emerged from his house he came at me instantly completely unprovoked, punching me painfully with his sharp hoof. I was terrified! It was clear it was him or me. I killed that pig man that day, and vowed to make a change. One night around the campfire, Wigfrid had told us of a legendary place, a place that brought terror to the hearts of mere men, but that sounded like a paradise to this boy-that-lives-inside-the-spider-who-tried-to-eat-him-long-ago. She had visited that place when the world was new, when carrots and flints were still plentiful on the ground. She had travelled through a wormhole only to find herself on a solitary savanna island. There was very little to find there except grass, rabbit holes, and a spider mound. As it happened, Wigfrid had done battle with spider kind before (“only in self defense!” she insisted when telling me, reminded belatedly of my heritage), and she had several spider eggs in her pack. In a stroke of inspiration, she planted the eggs on the island, then returned to the mainland. The one time she had come back years later she found that three dens had become six, and the island was no longer safe for humans. As she finished her story, she fell silent. Everyone around the fire was doing the calculations in their mind. She had last visited many years before. What would the island look like now? Surely it would be well and truly over-run by spiders? The very next day after the pig man attacked me I made plans to move to Spider Island. I knew where the wormhole was. All I needed was a few basic supplies: stone and charcoal for cooking, gears for refrigeration, lots and lots of grass and twigs for rabbit traps. No one had ever used the honeycombs I put in the communal chests, so I took those. Under of guise of replacing the flowers near the communal bee boxes that had been stripped by some insane person over the winter, I gathered extra for my own needs. I gathered as much poop as my pack would carry. Once my inventory was stuffed full of such useful items, I set out to find Spider Island. It did not disappoint. It had been a very long time since Wigfrid had seeded the island with a few spider dens. Since then they had greatly expanded, covering the majority of the island with their silky threads. There were dozens of spider dens, and at any given time at least 8 queens were wandering around, looking for a new place to settle down. And for the first time in my life, no one seemed to notice that I was different. It was as if I was one of them, as if I BELONGED. I was home. Starting camp on Spider Island was difficult, as I had foolishly decided to make the move in winter. I was forced to return to main camp a few times for succor. But slowly and surely I established myself there. Early on I had to come to terms with the intersection of spiders and rabbit traps. While there were quite a few rabbit holes to provide protein, it was very common for spiders to get trapped instead of rabbits. At first I was loathe to consume the flesh of my friends, but one night when I was threatened with starvation I came to an understanding with myself: Any spider stupid enough to end up in one of my traps was stupid enough to eat. It was true that the sound of hissing and clattering of feet was somewhat unnerving, but I also felt safe in a large community of friends. They protected me when the hounds came, they protected me from marauders, and they even protected me when come late winter the unthinkable happened: a deerclops came to Spider Island! I was sure that my hard-won little camp would be completely destroyed. I thanked my stars for the miner’s hat when he got my fire ring right away, but by some miracle my little loathsome friends were able to distract it away from my crockpot, fridge, and science machines. It was a mighty battle, with the deerclops surrounded by several queens and a hundred spiders. That first cluster were martyrs to the cause as the deerclops killed them by the dozen, taking out several three-tier spider dens in the process. As he clomped his way across the island he stumbled into another set of tier three nests. He took out dozens more spiders and several of the nests, but ultimately it was too much for the deerclops. He lay dead, surrounded by a great field of silks and spider glands. And so I have made Spider Island my home. It can be lonely, as the spiders never speak, but at least I am accepted here. I go to the mainland from time to time, bearing gifts of silks and glands, but everyone who has tried to return the visit has been killed within moments. Someday, perhaps, another Webber will join my little kingdom. But until that day I am fully committed to making Spider Island the best place for people-that-live-in-the-spider-who-tried-to-eat-them-long-ago kind. 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absimiliard Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 I love this story, thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T4T3RGR3NAD3R Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 i crie evrytim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeneah Posted March 31, 2015 Author Share Posted March 31, 2015 Here's the deerclops on the second set of spider queens: And here is some of the damage it did to my dear queen friends: And here's Spider Island--post deerclops, much reduced: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShnarfBird Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 What a delightfully immersive tale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SillyWilson Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 What a beautiful island <3 I'd be tempted to be webber and join you if I didn't love catcoons so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinterStormy Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 A brilliant tale, ive been reading most of the stories in this section but this one is my favorite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeneah Posted April 11, 2015 Author Share Posted April 11, 2015 Wow, thanks WinterStormy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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