1.04 – Dinner

They'd waited 10 minutes for Emma before Charlotte decided to go get dinner started, leaving Rachel there to lead the pair once the Slime girl got back.

Maple was wary. As wary as a starving, lost person, could be anyway. She reasoned that if either of the giant spiders—women—wanted her dead, then even a [Soapy Helper] wouldn't be able to save her. And they probably would have just done it by now.

So the two waited in silence. Neither seemed particularly good at small talk, but Rachel did manage to bring up the obvious.

"So what's this world you say you're from like?"

Maple jumped at the sudden sound, but then she thought about it.

"Hm, normal I guess? I don't really know what this one is like, so I don't know how to compare it...We don't have Slimes or Levels though. And if this world has magic, we don't have magic either."

"What? How would anything get done in such a world?"

"We have technology. Hrm. I could show you, maybe..."

Maple put a hand on her pocket, feeling the phone inside and considering the risk. Rachel politely didn't insist, and even resisted any urge to prod once Maple decided against it for now.

"Maybe I'll show the both of you at dinner. I don't have a lot of battery left. Or—there are only two of you right? I probably should have kept all this a secret..."

"You likely should have, if what you say is true. Other worlds have always meant trouble, historically. Not that you'd be hunted or anything—they're mostly just old fables. But still."

Maple chewed her lip, considering all this. She desperately needed more information. She hadn't even seen the sky or sun since getting here, it could be green and purple for all she knew.

"Say, what's the outside like here anyway? Blue sky, one sun, and a moon at night, right?"

Rachel raised an eyebrow, and Maple expected the worst.

"How long did you say you've been cooped up here? A week?"

"Yeah, more or less. But if it's dinner time right now, it must be night? I woke up not that long ago, so my schedule might have gone all wonky. Assuming it was the same time in this world as mine when I got here. It felt like about a week, though."

"Hmm. Humans do need sunlight or else it starts to affect their circadian rhythm, right? I guess it would be difficult for you to tell, then."

"Wait, you know about circadian rhythms here?"

Rachel's face turned a shade closer to her hair as she tried to wave it off. Maple relaxed a little. Seeing the Arachnid woman embarrassed by something so mundane made it easier to trust her for some reason.

"Books do exist here, you know? I just like to read sometimes, as a hobby. I'm not an expert or anything."

"Yeah, I just wasn't sure how much science existed in this world is all. Liking books is totally cool."

Rachel pushed up her glasses. The conversation came to a lull and the silence became more awkward.

"Maybe we should try to look for her?"

Rachel shifted, but before she could answer, a blue blob streaked into the dome. She didn't stop until Maple was sinking into her and laughing.

"Emma! I missed you too. Is everything alright?"

She formed the upper half of a human and nodded. She looked exhausted, and mimed as such before resting her head in Maple's chest.

"Um, Emma. We have a guest, and a change of plans actually. This is Rachel. Her and her mom invited us over for dinner."

The Slime girl turned around and then moved defensively in front of Maple. She looked ready to fight, even as her gelatinous body wobbled a little.

"It's alright. I mean, spiders are scary but she's half-human, see? She's nice. She even helped me down after her mom tied me up while I was sleeping."

Rachel grimaced and Emma turned around to face Maple. She did what?

"It was very inappropriate, and I'll speak to her about it...But the proper term for us is just Arachnid, by the way. Saying we're 'half-human' like that is implying our non-human parts are inherently bad. They're not, and as Humans often forget, we're people too. Hybrids and fully non-human peoples."

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't know...We don't have—we only have humans where I come from."

Rachel pushed her glasses up and looked slightly flustered again. Emma shrugged, apparently having no stake in this argument.

"Well, now you do. Anyway let's go. I'm sure Mother has dinner ready by now."

"Ah, yeah. You look tired Emma, do you wanna go back in your bottle? I can just carry you, if you want."

She nodded and sluggishly slid into the bathroom to get it.

"Do you have a light by the way? The tunnel is too dark for me. That's why Emma was going to lead the way."

"Oh shoot. I forgot Humans don't have good dark vision...I guess it won't be too bad if you just follow my voice."

Emma came back and handed Maple her empty bottle. Then she saluted and seemed to get sucked back in. Rachel watched with mild interest.

"Alright, let's go."

"We'll never get there at this rate."

"That's not my fault! I can't see anything, and the ground is uneven."

"All you need to do is follow my voice and footsteps. It shouldn't be this difficult..."

Maple stamped her foot in frustration. Very little progress had been made, despite Rachel's insistence that it was soo easy to walk around blind. In a cave. With uneven ground and obstacles.

Maple heard a deep sigh come from the Arachnid woman.

"I really wanted to avoid suggesting this, but maybe it'd be better after all...if I just gave you a ride on my back."

The cave went totally silent except for the sound of their breathing. By back, she'd obviously meant the part of her that was a spider. Maple really didn't want to touch what was essentially a giant spider—even if she was a person, and being scared of her was somewhat racist.

She had a point though, and Maple did want to conquer this fear. She was nearly whispering as she replied.

"...Fine. Where are you?"

"Here—eek."

The shriek came from Maple grabbing her spider butt and pulling herself up from behind. Then she was straddling her and inching her way forward while trying to find a steady spot to sit.

Rachel's spider parts were smooth and hard, almost like some kind of metal. It meant Maple didn't cringe as much while having to climb all over her. But she was really trying not to let that discomfort show.

It took a minute, but she ended all the way up at Rachel's front, legs dangling beneath her humanoid half. Maple was panting from the fear she'd endured getting there, while Rachel stayed silent.

"...You could have just climbed on from here if that's where you were going to sit."

"Yeah..."

"You ready?"

Maple almost lost her balance as the Arachnid started walking. She fell forward and wrapped her arms around Rachel's waist, hugging her from behind. Her cheeks flushed and she pulled back a little, but left her arms there.

"Sorry, there's nothing to hang on to..."

"It's fine. Keep a sturdy grip so you don't fall."

She picked up the pace. Maple had no idea which direction they were even going, and it dawned on her she'd need one of them to help in getting back too. Or maybe she could get one of them to lead her to the exit.

All was silent besides their breathing and the occasional sound of Rachel's chitinous spider feet tapping against stone. That was rare though, as she was quite light-footed. It made Maple get to thinking, though.

"Hm, is it hard to walk with so many legs?"

"What? No, it just comes nat—"

Maple yelped as they suddenly lurched forward. She hugged her body tightly against Rachel's back.

"What was that—did you just trip? Ohh, is it because you thought about it? Haha I guess it really is a little difficult then, huh?"

"Hm."

They continued in silence after that, and Maple wondered if she'd accidentally annoyed the Arachnid.

Charlotte saw them coming and threw open the door to their home. Maple had to squint it was so bright compared to the complete absence of light. The delightful smell of home-cooked food filled the otherwise musty cave.

Through the oversize doorway Maple could see pristine hardwood floors obscured by an entryway rug. On a wall, she could barely make out some kind of tapestry.

"Ara~ You two have grown awfully close. Has my dear Rachel finally taken an interest in someone?"

Rachel didn't even dignify that with a response while Maple climbed off. She stretched and grabbed Emma's glass vial from her bag.

"It was just impossible for me to see anything, so she ended up having to give me a ride."

"Oh? Well, you know...in some cultures only a lover would be considered close enough to let someone mount them~"

Charlotte covered her chuckle with a hand as Maple stammered something about that not being the case here.

"Just ignore her. Is dinner ready?"

"Yes, Daughter~ Did Maple's friend make it back to you alright as well?"

"Oh, yeah. I think she might be sleeping."

Maple indicated the bottle. She wasn't sure how well Emma could see out or hear—if at all—but she trusted the Slime girl would come out when she was ready.

Rachel led the way inside. Instead of just bare rock, the walls were covered in tapestries with intricate, colorful designs. Maple went from staring at one with a moon in a web of stars, to one that had a stylized, fractal-y skull, and other hypnotic looking ones.

In one area of the room Maple saw what looked to be some equipment used to weave them. Along with a lot of bottles. Dyes, perhaps. It was all very organized and tidy, like the rest of the home.

"Do you like them?"

Charlotte turned to Maple, clearly proud of her work.

"They're beautiful. You make these?"

"Ara~ You'll make me blush. Yes we make them; it's how my daughter and I earn a living. It's all spider silk, of course. I weave, she dyes and finishes. She always was more interested in chemicals. Come on, I can talk your ear off about that later. You must be starving, so I went all out on dinner tonight~"

She'd grown numb to the pervasive emptiness in her stomach, as if her brain just wasn't going to bother making her crave something it knew it couldn't have, but now the hunger was painfully gnawing at her as she smelled real food.

In the kitchen, a table was filled with food. Maple saw rolls, a golden brown bird that looked like it'd melt in your mouth, mashed potatoes, gravy, a few different types of vegetables, and even empty glasses waiting to be filled from a bottle of wine.

Despite all this food, and there being four women when you included Emma, there were only two chairs at the table. It was the first thing Maple spotted that made the home feel truly foreign. Arachnids didn't need chairs.

"Wow, it all looks so good. You really did go all out. These are for me and Emma, right?"

"Of course, dear. I had to dig them out of storage; it's not often we have guests over. Sit, and help yourself to as much as you'd like."

Maple put Emma's jar on one of the chairs and then loaded up a huge plate and immediately began stuffing her face.

Part of her was relieved to see she hadn't committed any kind of faux pas when the two Arachnids did the same without any ceremony or hesitation. Normally she might have waited for one of them to start eating first, but all of her being was demanding she eat.

The relief was immense. This was the feast to her week-long famine. Hunger really was the best taste enhancer, and the overwhelming urge to stuff herself drove her to do just that.

"Mmf, it's so good. I can't thank you enough."

"Ara~ I'm glad you like it. Do you drink, dear?"

Charlotte indicated the wine bottle, and was already uncorking it. Maple wasn't sure what the drinking age was in this world, but she was an adult and not about to ask now.

"I could have a glass."