[action]

[diseasing]

[So, you're in the orchards for some reason. Maybe you're exploring or just taking a walk. Maybe you're gathering food. Maybe you're lost and you wound up there by mistake. No matter what the reason, you're there, though, and you've come across a certain pair of trees.]

[Now, there's nothing unusual about this trees themselves. It's what's between

Comments

[notvitiligo]

[It's not a centipede, so it's fine in Jessica's book! She's just going to stand back and watch this thing. Though, of course, she's definitely ready to run like hell, because, y'know, giant predator.]

[diseasing]

[The spider moves toward one of the larger birds it has trapped, but then pauses. Has it noticed Jessica? Yes it has! In response, it...suddenly warps, it's body changing shape and seeming to collapse in on itself.]

[...And then, suddenly, Yamame is there, hanging upside down from one of the threads like a kid on a set of monkey bars. She's smiling brightly.]

Hi! What are you doing here?

[notvitiligo]

[Blink. That was new.]

Hi. I was just looking around for a good place to build.

I, uh, didn't mean to interrupt your... lunch, I guess. I was just kind of interested, with the whole "giant spider" thing.

[diseasing]

[And Yamame swings off from where she's hanging, letting herself land on the ground. Turning and brushing herself off, she steps closer to Jessica. Lunch? That's forgotten, at least for the moment.]

Oh? What are you building?

[phobophage]

[A monochrome teenager with red eyes is watching with intrigued eyes. This's different. So far she'd only ran into a limited selection of beings compared to the Dream World, so this stood out.

Unafraid, she waits for the spider to come down close enough to speak to.]

[diseasing]

[The spider continues downward, only pausing when it notices the girl standing there. Then, it pauses, watching her with its many eyes. Somehow, its gaze manages to convey curiosity.]

[phobophage]

[The girl speaks up as if talking to giant spiders were an ordinary experience to her.]

Hello there. You're the first I've seen here that wasn't human shaped or a rabbit or cat or fox or bird or bear or wolf or snake. Are there other spiders here like you?

[diseasing]

[When the spider speaks, it's in an odd, distorted voice. Still, it's distinctly feminine, and it sounds cheerful enough.]

I haven't met any, if there are. And I can look human-shaped too if I want to.

[lovelikelight]

[Epsilon smiles up at the spider, curious. They don't have such large arachnids on her world, and this is the first one of its kind she's seen here. She takes a step closer.]

[diseasing]

[It pauses midway to one of the birds its trapped, seemingly gazing back at Epsilon. If spiders can have expressions, this one's is curious.]

[lovelikelight]

[The cats here can understand speech, so why not the spiders? This one does look like it could be intelligent, and it's watching her closely. She tries speaking to it.]

Hello. My name's Epsilon. It's nice to meet you.

[diseasing]

Hi! I'm Yamame Kurodani.

[Its voice is odd and not entirely human-like, but it sounds friendly enough. It's distinctly feminine, too, though that's not unusual, given the nature of the Gardens.]

[ofnobility]

[Utena wanders around the Orchards often, goes on runs, does things to distract herself from her worry. It so happens though, that she decides to go down a path she doesn't normally.

When she stumbles upon the spiderweb, she makes a strangled sort of gasp and falls backward.] What is this...?

[She warily eyes the enormous spider, already poised to run in case it decides she's going to be a meal. Those poor birds...]

[diseasing]

[The spider pauses as it notices Utena, its many eyes watching her closely. Then, it warps and collapses inwards, until there is no longer a spider hanging from the web, but a young girl. Her expression is one of concern.]

What's the matter?

[ofnobility]

[Utena looks startled, but she stops scrambling away, and her terrified expression shifts into one of cautious curiosity.]

How'd you do that?

[diseasing]

[Yamame hops down from her perch on the web, taking a few steps toward the other girl and smiling brightly in her best attempt at putting her at ease.]

I'm a youkai. It's just one of the things I can do.

[Action]

[garchampion]

[Very, very curious...

When the spider comes down and Cynthia gets a look at it, she is very curious!]

Look at that. Even larger than an Ariados.

Re: [Action]

[diseasing]

What's an Ariados? [the spider asks. It has a feminine-if a little odd sounding-voice, and it seems to be looking at Cynthia with as much curiosity as a spider can convey.]

Re: [Action]

[garchampion]

[Oh.

Okay. It talks. Surprising, but not Earth-shattering.]

A very large spider-like creature from my world.

[diseasing]

Oh...? [There's a pause, and then it explains,] I'm an earth spider.